Rika's Roanapur Adventure! or Roanapur Zombieland!
by Draco38
Summary: This story happens during Chapter 24 of my Highschool of the DEAD story Time Trax, when Rika, Tajima and Yuriko go looking for weapons and supplies. A/U (I changed the name a little after Chap. 4)
1. Chapter 1

This story happens during Chapter 24 of Time Trax when Rika, Tajima and Yuriko go looking for weapons and supplies.

I do not own the characters from Black Lagoon or Highschool of the dead.

* * *

_About 2 months before Z-Day in Japan:_

It had taken the trio over twenty-four hours travel time to reach Bangkok, Thailand. They left Haneda airport late in the evening and flown to Manila to change planes and continue on to Darwin, Australia. After a layover of several hours, the next flight took them to Singapore and then on to Bangkok itself. They could have flown straight through, but Rika and Yuriko felt the round-a-bout route was better for them just in case someone made a note of their travels.

The sun was going down when they arrived, so they stayed their first night in Thailand at a hotel on the airport grounds. Getting up early the next morning, they picked up a black American SUV at the rental service and started their drive south.

"I think the landscape is quite pretty, don't you, Rika-san?" Yuriko said several hours into the trip.

"Not bad," the policewoman replied. "I would hate to have to hump around in that jungle on a mission though."

Yuriko smiled as Tajima, Rika's partner, chuckled. She enjoyed the police officers company and respected them to no end. She was very aware they were taking a risk coming on this trip with her. If their commanders learned what their group was up to, it could cost them their jobs and maybe more.

"Well, hopefully we will be able to get our business conducted quickly and be on our way home soon," the ex-stockbroker said.

"I'm glad Roanapur has at least one good hotel," Rika said. "I really hate to stay in a city with such a reputation, but I'm told the Sanken Palace is safe enough."

"As safe as a hotel can be in a place like this," Tajima muttered.

Rika smirked, "Manila's bad enough, but they say Roanapur is as bad as Saigon was before the end of the Vietnam War. I'm glad we were able to bring some carry pieces, I just wish we had more ammo."

Through her connections, Rika had arranged to meet some Thai commandos she was acquainted with the night before. They provided her and Tajima with a couple of Taurus 9mm pistols and two extra full magazines each. The woman knew if they got into a firefight though, the ammo would last mere minutes.

"Hopefully your roles as bodyguards will only be for visual effect," Yuriko said with a smile.

"I wonder…" the purple-haired woman said as Tajima slowed to a stop at a metal framed bridge that was the border to the city. They all looked up as the hangman's noose tied to the cross beam, swung gently in the breeze.

000

Rika was restless and had not slept much overnight. She had been up several times in the living room of the suite they were in, looking out the windows listening to the sounds of the city. That, and the sound of gunfire.

She had stood on the balcony as automatic weapons chattered in the distance. Once she watched through a monocular spotting scope, as several blocks away she saw two men gunned down and left dead in an ally.

_Where the hell are the police?_ she wondered. Then she realized the gang that just killed the men were walking to a police car and handing the man behind the wheel a package, before the car drove away. She'd heard Roanapur was bad, but this was beyond what she could comprehend. _What have I gotten Yuriko into?_ she thought as the other woman came onto the balcony with her as the sun came up.

"Is it very bad?" the older woman asked.

Rika nodded, "Worse than I thought. We need to get our business done and get out of here as soon as we can, Yuriko."

"It will be mid-day before we can see this Mr. Leroy though," the purple-haired woman replied. "Your friends warned us not to travel the highways at night so it will be at least tomorrow before we can leave. For now let's call room service and get breakfast, then rest a while longer before venturing out."

Rika nodded and followed her friend back into the hotel room.

000

Revy groaned as she rolled over to look at her partner sitting on the bed next to her. Taking the cigarette he was holding out, she sat up and stretched before leaning against him. "Why are you waking me up so fucking early, Rock?" she asked as she sucked on the smoke.

The Japanese salaryman chuckled, "Good morning to you too, and by the way, it's almost noon. Richie Leroy called; he has a job for us if you feel like it. Since Dutch has the boat down for repairs I thought it would be a good way to pull in a little extra cash for the two of us."

"Hmmm," she hummed. "What the deal?"

"Escort some people around town that want to buy some items. Leroy said he thought it was right up our ally, but that was all he said."

The gunslinger grunted and got up before stretching again. Padding towards the bath, she stopped in the door and dropped her underwear. Picking them up, she shot them like a rubber band at her partner as she said, "Find me some clean ones, Rocky-baby. I'm going to grab a quick shower."

"Don't need help do you?" he called in return as he snatched the fabric missile out of the air.

She flipped him the bird and laughed as she turned on the water.

The couple had been semi-cohabitating for over a year now; they still kept their separate apartments since both needed 'space' once in a while. Rock dug through the pile of clothes on Revy's dresser until he came up with a clean pair.

"We need to do laundry tomorrow," he told her as she came out of the shower rubbing her hair with a towel.

"Yeah, yeah," she replied as she hung the wet cloth around his neck and snagged her panties from his hand. "Tell you what, you handle that while…I take a nap maybe?"

She was rewarded by a pinch on the butt as she bent over to step into her underwear. "Hey!" she exclaimed as she took a light swing at him with her fists.

He defended himself by grabbing her wrists and pulled her close. They stood like that for a moment before sharing a quick kiss. His prize won, Rock let her go to finish dressing.

"All he said was an escort job?" Revy asked as she checked the loads in her Cutlass Specials.

Rock nodded, "Just said it should be an easy take. He's tied up and all the people really need is to be shown around and introduced to a few people. Didn't say introduced to who, but I guess we should know them."

Revy grunted as she walked out the door with him following. They rattled down the stairs to the street where the Lagoon Company's red GTO sat waiting.

"Whatever," she said as she climbed in. "Easy money is easy money, and if I have to shoot a few people in the meantime…it don't bother me."

Rock shook his head as he fired off the big V8 motor. He would always rather avoid trouble, but he knew Revy gravitated to it. He pulled away from the curb and pressed down hard enough on the gas pedal to squeal the tires as they picked up speed.

He had not driven much before coming to the city of sin, but he found himself enjoying the speed and power of the old muscle car more and more. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Revy smirking at him as they raced down the street.

000

Yuriko was sitting in a chair across the desk from the information broker, while Rika and Tajima stood behind and to either side of her.

Leroy was explaining his position to the trio, "I assure you, the pair I have coming to escort you are top-notch. You will be as safe with them as you are anywhere."

Yuriko smiled, "I'm sure we will be able to trust you judgment, Leroy-san, but please understand my associates are concerned with our well-being."

There was a knock at the door and Leroy said, "AH! There they are now! Come on in!"

The door opened to admit a woman with auburn hair tied into a ponytail, dressed in combat boots, cutoff jeans and a black tank top. She also wore a pair of silver pistols, tucked under each arm. Her right shoulder and arm were covered in a 'tribal' style tattoo. Behind her was, surprisingly, a Japanese man wearing in a dress shirt and tie with slacks.

"Yo Leroy," the woman said in English. "Here we are, what'cha need?"

The man behind the desk visibly swallowed as he stood up to greet the newcomers. "Hey Revy," he replied with a smile. "Afternoon Rock, these are the customers I told you about. I thought you might be best suited for this job."

The salaryman turned to the Japanese and bowed with respect, speaking to them in his native tongue, -_"Greetings, My name is Rock from the Lagoon Couriers Company. How can we be of service today?"-_

Yuriko stood and bowed slightly in return, -_"Good afternoon__,__ Rock-san. I am Yuriko and these are my associates Minami-san and Tajima-san. Leroy-san told us you might be able to help find and buy some supplies we need."-_

Rock paused for a moment at the woman's name before nodding, -_"Ah if I may ask, do you all speak English? My partner is not up to speed on Japanese yet."-_

"Certainly," Yuriko said, switching languages. "We are all fluent."

"Good," Rock said with a smile. "Please allow me to introduce to you my partner Revy."

"Yo," the tattooed woman said from where she leaned on the front of Leroy's desk, arms crossed in front of her. Her eyes drifted across the trio, analyzing them for threats.

"Good afternoon to you, Revy-san," Yuriko said with a smile, as she bowed slightly to the gunslinger. Behind her the bodyguards bowed slightly also.

Revy's eyes narrowed as she noticed the female guard's eyes. Even though the woman wore a shooter's version of sunglasses, Revy could tell the purpled-haired woman's focus never left her during the bow. She looked the pair over carefully. _Dress pants and coats with button-up shirts,_ she thought. _But they look more like they would rather be in combat fatigues…I got a funny feeling about these two._

"If I might know what kind of items you are looking for…" Rock asked in the polite way of his.

Rika took a list out of her pocket and handed it to him as she said, "If you can help us we would like to try to deal with as few people as possible. I understand this might not be a one stop shopping trip."

Rock read over the list before frowning and glancing at Leroy and Revy, "Well this is quite an extensive list…I think I have an idea of who can supply these items, but I doubt they will have everything in stock today."

"Oh it does not have to be fulfilled today, Rock-san," the beautiful Yuriko said. "In fact we don't need it for quite some time, early April is our deadline."

"So two months?" he asked. "I'm sure that is doable. What about transport of the goods?"

"I would be open to your suggestions," she told him. "If we need to arrange it ourselves so be it, but Leroy-san felt you could handle this also. It will need to go by sea though."

Curiosity getting the best of her, Revy stepped over and took the list from Rock's hands. "Holy shit," she exclaimed. "What the hell do you wanna do…start a war?"

Musical laughter poured from Yuriko's mouth, "Oh no, Revy-san! Just think of us as a group that wants to survive a coming disaster."

Revy stared at the woman for a minute while Rock handed the list back to Rika. "Rock, let's step the fuck outside for a minute," the gunslinger said.

"Please excuse us while we discuss this," he told the guests as he followed Revy into the hall. Exiting through the door, she led him down the hall to a window that looked out over the ally between buildings. They both lit smokes before she spoke up.

"What the fuck do you think this is about? We've got a beauty queen and a pair of guards that smell like cops wanting to buy enough guns and ammo to start World War Three."

Rock shook his head, "I don't know why they want them, but I do know that woman is Yuriko Takagi, wife of a very powerful Japanese Right-Wing politician."

Revy frowned, "Not that I give a shit, but are they trying to overthrow the Jap government?"

Rock shook his head again, "I don't think so, right-wingers in Japan are loyalists, but want their government influenced less by other countries like the US. Something else is going on here." Taking another drag of his cigarette, he asked, "You want to pass on this one?"

She thought for a moment and then shook her head, "Nah, if all they want to do is pay us to do a show and tell, that's good for us. I don't really care what they want the guns for, it's just strange."

He nodded and tossed his butt out the window before starting back to Leroy's office. They entered and Rock bowed to the trio again.

"I think we will be able to help you," he said.

000

After settling with Leroy, the group was standing on the street next to the black SUV.

"I'll ride shotgun," Revy said. "Just go where I tell you to," she told Tajima as he got in the driver's seat.

Rika had Yuriko get in the middle of the back seat, as she got in behind her partner. Rock crawled in on the other side of Yuriko behind Revy. Rika picked her spot carefully, keeping the Lagoon gunslinger at an angle she could draw on her if she had to and the auburn haired woman knew it. She watched Rika out of the corner of her eyes with a smirk on her face as they settled in the truck.

"Go that a-way about six blocks and hang a right," Revy told Tajima.

As they headed down the street, Yuriko turned to Rock, "So Rock-san, how did a nice looking young man like you end up in Roanapur?"

Rock blushed as Revy laughed, "I was working for a Tokyo company and was sent on a mission to hand deliver some important data. The ship I was on had a run in with Lagoon Company, who wanted the data for a client of theirs."

Revy laughed again, "Jis fess up, Rock! We robbed you and then I took you hostage trying to get some extra money out of you. He was worthless though."

Rock chuckled, "Well first one thing led to another and instead of going home, I ended up working for the very people that kidnapped me."

"Oh my!" Yuriko said, as she laughed lightly. "So after all that you became partners? That must be some story."

Tajima turned right where Revy told him to, but before he picked up speed again she held out her hand.

"Hold up dude, something's going on up here," she said.

Looking out the windshield they saw several people in white hospital scrubs dragging what seemed to be body bags across the street. A white van that said 'UG Pork' on the side had its cargo door open and a young woman dressed like a Gothic Lolita was directing the workers.

"Stop here a sec," Revy said as she rolled down the window. Hanging her head out, she called out to the Goth girl, "Hey scary chic! What's going on?"

Glaring at her, the 'scary chic' walked over to the SUV. She looked in and scanned the passengers with half-lidded, dead looking eyes.

"**Someone…hit…some Triad…people,"** she told Revy in a tinny mechanical voice.

Rika could see scars around the young woman's neck and she was wearing a vocoder on a choker. _Somebody did their damnedest to try to cut her throat,_ Rika thought.

"**Hello…Rock…"** the Goth woman said, as a grin split her face.

Looking slightly uncomfortable, Rock replied, "Um, hello Sawyer. How are you doing today?"

"**Better…now…"** she replied as she wrinkled her nose at him.

"Hey creepy," Revy said suddenly very serious. "Just because I let you get away with your Halloween prank, don't push it too far. Let's go dude."

The Goth woman stepped back away from the truck, her grin turning vicious as she focused on the gunslinger again. She raised her right hand and wiggled her fingers in goodbye to Rock as Tajima slowly pulled away.

"Friend?" Yuriko asked as Rock blew out a breath he had been holding.

"Acquaintance," Rock replied.

"Creepy freak," Revy muttered under her breath as she lit a cigarette.

Rika touched Yuriko lightly on the arm and held up her cigar box. "You mind?" she asked.

"No go ahead, Rika-san, I'm sure you need it," the woman replied.

Revy smirked as Rika lit her smoke after rolling down the window. _She's twitchy,_ Revy thought. _She don't like a bunch of strange people being around Miss. Prissy Pants._ _She's used to being in control and she has none here._ She glanced at the driver as her thoughts continued, _He, on the other hand, is used to her running things and is cool with it for now._

They soon approached the last turn, which led them up a hill on the outskirts of the city. At the top was a pretty, old church with several out buildings around it. Stopping in the front drive, everyone got out and Revy walked to the front doors, which she began to beat on and yell.

"YO, Old Bitch! Open up! It's Rock and Rebecca!"

The heavy door opened to reveal a disgruntled looking blond nun with purple sunglasses on. "How many times do I got to tell you not to make so much fucking noise! This is a church, goddamnit!"

"Shut up, ya skank! We're here to see Yolanda, we got business for her," Revy said as a young priest also walked out. "Now here's somebody I would rather deal with! How ya doing, Rico ol'boy!"

With this she put the young man in a headlock and gave him a noogie, as he blushed bright red.

"He…hey Revy! Hi Rock!" he said as he worked his way out of the woman's hold. He was a good looking young man with a bright smile on his face. Turning to the blond he said, "Mother Superior said to bring them to the meeting room, Big Sis."

"That's Sister Eda you idiot, aren't you ever gonna get that right?" the nun said before finally focusing on the Japanese trio before her. Her eyes narrowed as she scanned them over, looking for threats. "Come on, follow me," she told the group as she started inside.

She took them through the chapel to a room in the back that had a pair of couches with a coffee table between them.

Revy leaned against the wall as Sister Eda took up a position at the end of the one couch and motioned for them to sit on the other.

"How you been, Romeo, you getting tired of this wore out bitch yet?" Eda asked Rock after he seated Yuriko.

"Yo Eda," Revy growled. "I've told you before, fucking shut that shit up…or else…"

"Or else what?" Eda growled in return as the air in the room suddenly got heavy.

In a flash Revy had one of her silver guns in her right hand and pointed at the nun's forehead. Just as quickly the nun had pulled a black Glock pistol from under her arm and had it focused on Revy's forehead.

Rika reacted quickly, one hand on Yuriko's shoulder to shove her out of the way, the other behind her back, starting to draw the Taurus she was carrying.

That was a far as she got. Before she could even clear the holster, she was looking down the barrel of Revy's second gun. Her eyes widened as both gunslingers heads swiveled to focus on her.

"Yo sis, you ain't involved in this and nether is your partner," Revy told her. "You've been twitchy ever since we started on this run. Just chill-out, your lady ain't in no danger."

Rika relaxed and nodded as Yuriko patted her hand where it lay on the purple-haired woman's shoulder. "It's alright, Rika-san," she said. "I think the ladies are just being enthusiastic."

Revy chuckled as Eda snorted. The Lagoon gunwoman put the piece she had on Rika away, her other hand never wavering.

"How many times have I told the two of you not to act this way in the church," someone said sternly from the doorway across the room from them.

A much older woman, dressed in a nun's habit like Sister Eda, was standing there. She wore an eye patch over her right eye and had a heavy bearing of authority about her. As she strolled across the floor, Revy and Eda both frowned and put their guns away.

Rock and Yuriko got up and bowed slightly as the old nun stopped across the coffee table from them.

"Good afternoon, sister. I would like to introduce you to Ms. Yuriko and her associates. They are in need of your unique services," Rock said. "Yuriko-san this is Sister Yolanda, the Mother Superior here."

"Good afternoon," the old nun said as she sat down. "Could I offer you some tea?"

"Why thank you, that would be lovely," Yuriko responded.

"One thing you can say is, Sister Yolanda serves a very fine cup of tea," Rock told the purple-haired woman.

"So what can we do for you today?" the old woman asked as the young priest came in with a tea service.

"The lady is looking to fill a bill of goods I think you can supply," Rock told her as he held his hand out for the list Rika had in her pocket. Taking it he passed it to the nun as Rico placed cups on the table before them.

Yolanda hummed several times as she read the paper with Eda looking over her shoulder, "That is quite a large order I must say. I will tell you now, we do not have anywhere near this much in stock."

"Rock-san told me he did not think you would, but we are not in that much of a rush. I would like the items on hand by the end of March for delivery by the second week of April," Yuriko told her.

"Would Dutch be handling delivery, young man?" Yolanda asked Rock.

"I'm not sure yet where the merchandise would be going," he replied as he looked to Yuriko.

"Its final destination will be a small island in the Pacific, south of Japan," the woman told them. "Travel by air is not possible to the island."

"That would be out of the _Lagoon's_ range, plus I think the amounts are far too much for our cargo spaces," Rock said. "If you want I should be able to find and set up transport by a cargo vessel for you."

"Which is why you were recommended to us, Rock-san," Yuriko said with a smile. "The question is now, how much is this going to cost?"

After thinking a few more minutes Yolanda quoted a price that even made Revy flinch.

_That's four times what it would cost new,_ Rika thought.

"Oh my…" Yuriko said with a light laugh.

"This is very good tea today, Sister Yolanda," Rock said as he sipped at his cup.

The old nun smirked at the salaryman as Revy pushed off from the wall. The Lagoon gunwoman glanced at Eda and walked behind Tajima. "Stick with your lady," Revy muttered to him as she passed and motioned for Rika to follow her, the blond nun in tow.

Rika frowned for a second and then nodded to her partner. The three women left by way they had come in. Revy glanced back as Rika closed the meeting room door behind them.

"I'm getting bored and now Rock is going to start one of his long winded negotiations," Revy said as she looked at the other two women before focusing on Eda. "Where's the liquor, bitch; I need a drink."

The nun frowned as she walked over the speaker's podium. Stepping behind it she pulled out a bottle of Jim Beam and three tumblers. "I guess I'll have to put this on your tab?" she asked Revy with a sneer.

"Fuck that," Revy replied. "Put it on the lady's bill. You're gonna make a mint on this even after Rocky-boy gets done."

Eda set the glasses on the offering table and poured them almost full. Rika hesitated for a moment, but picked up her glass and knocked it back in one gulp.

Revy, seeming to approve of this action, smirked before she and Eda did the same and the nun filled the glasses again. "I thought maybe you could use one or two," Revy told Rika. "You're wound up tight watching over your boss. I don't blame you, but chill out, everything's cool."

"Excuse me for being concerned," Rika replied. "I tend to get that way when people I don't know suddenly draw down on each other."

Revy laughed as Eda smirked. "That shit happens all the time around here," Eda said. "You must not get much action where you're from."

"Most of my action is at long distance," Rika said. "This trip is a special case."

"Sniper, huh?" Revy said. "Yeah you got the look for it. Your boyfriend must be your spotter. He waits for your cue before doing anything I noticed."

Rika simply shrugged, not really wanting to give out more information.

They all turned towards the meeting room door as it opened and Yuriko followed by Rock and Tajima came out.

"Oh, now I see where you ladies got off to," the purple-haired woman said as she walked over to the table. She raised one eyebrow to Rika who nodded, before picking up the refilled glass and downing it herself. She hummed lightly for a moment before putting it back on the table, top down.

"Ho ho! Looks like the lady's got game after all!" Revy laughed. "Y'all through already?" she asked as Rock walked up.

"Didn't take long," he replied. "It's a good deal for everyone and I'll handle the rest from here on out."

"Well then, let me show you out," Eda said. She led them to the door and opened it…to find a big man with a scar on his face standing there.

"Um, Mr. Boris?" Rock said in surprise.

The man looked over the group, then focused on the three Japanese before speaking. "You need to come with us," he said as he stepped to the side to allow them to exit. "The Kapitan needs to speak with you."

"Fuck; the Russians are here," Revy muttered as she looked out to see half a dozen more Slavic men, several carrying AK-74 rifles.

"What's this…" Rika started to ask as Rock stepped in front of her.

"May I speak with you for a moment, Mr. Boris?" the salaryman asked.

The man called Boris nodded and stepped away with Rock in tow. After a minute or two, Rock returned.

"I'm sorry, but we will need to go with them and meet with their boss. I don't think there will be any problem and we should be able to clear this up quickly."

Rika started to open her mouth again, but Revy shook her head, "Nope, shut it, sis. If they were going to play rough we'd be in body bags by now. Just go with the flow and listen to me and Rock. We know these people, sometimes we work with them, _comprende_?"

Yuriko nodded and said to the big Russian, "We are at your disposal, sir."

Rock held out his hand to Tajima, "Better let me drive this time. I know where we're going and they will feel easier about it."

After glancing at Rika, who nodded yes, the man handed the keys over.

"Let's go see big sis," Revy said as she started for the truck.

* * *

A/N: This was supposed to be a nice little fill in story, but it has turned into a bit more. LOL! Right now I am looking at five or six chapters at least.

As always, Please Review, Favorite and Follow!


	2. Chapter 2

I would again like to thank the Four Horsemen of the DEAD+1, for their editing help.

I do not own the characters from Black Lagoon or Highschool of the dead.

* * *

Half an hour later they pulled up in front of an office building that said 'Bougainvillea Trade Company' on the front.

In the time during the drive, Rock did his best to inform their clients who they were meeting and where they fit in the world of Roanapur.

Rika was not happy. Something about this bugged her and made her think of an incident that went on a couple of years ago; a shakeup in the underworld in Japan. When it was over, one Yakuza family had been wiped out and another devastated from the top down. The group that was wiped out was the Washimine clan, who at the time was led by a high school girl whom inherited the family when her father was killed. She had been found dead near the harbor, a katana through her throat, along with her bodyguard who had been shot. At the same time, leaders of the Kousa Council Yakuza group had been knocked off in a hit that involved some…Russians… The policewoman's eyes widened as the rest of the story rushed to the forefront of her brain.

_No…is this the same group of Russians? If so…we may be in big trouble…_ Rika thought as Rock pulled to the curb where the Russian Boris was indicating.

Once they climbed out of the SUV though, the men carrying the rifles drove away, leaving only Boris and one other. This eased Rika's anxiety slightly as they followed Rock into the building with Revy trailing behind.

Stopping inside at a desk, they were asked to hand over any weapons they were carrying. These were placed into a basket and left on the desk. A man frisked Tajima while a woman did the same to Rika and Yuriko.

Rika noticed Rock and Revy did not get searched or have to hand over weapons. "So you two get special treatment?" she asked.

Revy and Boris barked a laugh as Rock blushed. "We know Two-Hands well," the big man said. "And the day the Accountant carries a gun…well, that would be the end of the world I think."

The gangster led them upstairs and through an office door. Inside they found a large room with a big desk as well as several couches and chairs. On one couch sat a good looking Chinese man dressed in a black suit, sunglasses perched on his nose and a cigarette hanging jauntily from his lips. Behind him stood a tall Chinese woman wearing a red and gold cheongsam dress, split much higher than normal, with a white coat and high heels.

Revy walked over to stand beside the woman and said in greeting, "Chinglish."

"Twinkie," the woman replied in a sing-song voice, as she looked the Japanese group over.

Behind the big desk sat a blond haired woman with horrible burn scars running across her face and the part of her chest Rika could see. This woman was leaning back smoking a Cuban cigar of the same style the policewoman liked.

Rock stopped and bowed to the seated woman and then the man on the couch, "Good afternoon to you Ms. Balalaika, and to you, Boss Chang. How may we be of assistance to you today?"

The blond got up and walked around to stand in front of the trio from Japan. After looking at them closely for a minute, she walked to the couch and sat down beside Chang. "Sit down," was all she said. Rock motioned for Yuriko to sit beside him while Rika and Tajima took positions behind her as the others had their bosses.

Before sitting though, Yuriko stopped and bowed to the two mafia leaders, "Greetings to both of you, I am Yuriko and these are my associates Minami-san and Tajima-san."

"Explain to me who you are and why you are buying large qualities of military hardware in my…" Chang cleared his throat slightly at her statement and Balalaika frowned before she continued. "…_our_ city. What group are you with?"

Yuriko smiled and tittered slightly, "Oh my, it seems we have been misunderstood. We are not with a 'group' as I think you mean it, Balalaika-dono. We are simply a clan of people that wish to survive, what we feel, is a coming disaster."

"So you are not involved with the Yakuza at all?" Chang asked.

"Oh no, we are not criminals, Chang-dono," she said before glancing up at Rika. "Though I suppose if the Diet found out what we were doing we would be labeled so."

Balalaika's eyes narrowed as she crushed out her smoke. "Rock? Explain," she said as she looked to the salaryman.

"Ah, well you see Ms. Balalaika, Yuriko-sama's husband is a powerful right-wing politician. In Japan these nationalist are loyal to the government, but want _certain_ other countries to lessen their influence." Rock nodded to the woman sitting next to him, "I'm sorry, Yuriko-sama, I have known all along who you were even though I didn't tell you."

The purple-haired woman patted him on the arm, "That is alright, Rock-san, it is not like I really hid my identity very well. I'm afraid all that 'cloak and dagger' business is rather beyond me."

Balalaika raised one eyebrow as Chang snorted. "So," the Russian woman said, leaning back and crossing her legs and arms in front of her. "Explain what you mean by a 'coming disaster'. How, when and why."

Yuriko looked up, "Rika-san, if you please?"

The policewoman nodded, "We believe there will soon be an outbreak of a disease that will kill millions, if not billions around the world. This may start in the Balkans where several companies and universities are doing drug research on common cold and flu vaccines. We know they are already doing human trials and have been rushing because of the great wealth potential for the research that gets there first. What we don't know is if the mutation of the drug will happen because of an accident or someone plans it that way trying to take out an ethnic group. I'm sure I don't have to tell the two of you how much of _that_ is going on in that area."

Both of the leaders nodded as she continued, "If this happens, we think it could be as soon as early April. Now please understand, we don't want this to happen. We are not a doomsday cult cheering for the end of the world. We feel we have enough evidence on hand that this scares us to the point of giving up everything any of us have ever worked for to make sure our families and friends survive. We simply want to be prepared."

"And you think all these weapons will do that?" Balalaika asked.

Yuriko replied, "If this comes to pass we will also be protecting the population of a small island in the Pacific south of Japan. The people of this island have agreed to this and accepted us to their land because of this."

"Why are they accepting this story from you to begin with?" Chang asked.

Yuriko smiled, "It seems they are a bit of a mystical people that worship Ryujin, the Dragon God of the Sea. They tell us they are seeing some signs that lead them to believe as we do."

"What if this does not happen?" the Russian woman asked next. "You will have thrown away everything."

"Not quite," Yuriko said. "We will not make the move to the island unless we have positive proof the outbreak has started. We will be monitoring the internet as well as news reports in the weeks leading up to and through early April. If nothing happens by the end of the month…we were wrong and will call everything off."

"What about all the money and time invested?" Chang asked. "If you're stocking up on other supplies as well, what will you do with all of it?"

"The food, clothing and other such items can be sold or maybe donated to a humanitarian relief organization. The weapons can be stored away or even sold off once we are sure the disaster is not going to come to pass," she told them. "Will we lose money? Oh most certainly, but if we are prepared to survive… I have a daughter. I treasure her, her friends and their families. This has brought all of us much closer together and I would give up my entire fortune to make sure they were safe."

Balalaika looked at Chang for a minute before he shrugged his shoulders and nodded. Turning back to the Japanese she said, "Very well. I think you have convinced us you are not involved in what is going on."

"What's up, Big Sis?" Revy asked. "We saw Sawyer earlier and she said there was some trouble involving the boss's men."

Chang looked up at the Lagoon gunwoman, "Somebody started probing us today. We thought it might be a Yakuza faction, but so far we just don't know." Looking back at the Japanese he said, "You three be careful while you're in town. I get the feeling this is not your cup of tea. Where are you staying?"

"We are at the Sanken Palace, Chang-dono. We intend to be finished and out of the city no later than first thing in the morning," Yuriko told him.

He nodded, "You should be safe there. Pay attention to Rock and Revy and everything should be alright. That being said…" He looked at Balalaika who nodded before he spoke again, "I think we are through here and you can go, with our thanks for being cooperative."

Yuriko nodded, got up and bowed to everyone before following Rock to the door. She stopped before going out and turned back to the mafia couple. "Watch the Balkans. If it starts, it will be there. Sayonara," with that she bowed once again and left.

000

Downstairs the group stopped at the desk so Rika and Tajima could retrieve their pistols. Telling Boris goodbye, they headed out onto the street.

"I think that went quite well," Rock said to Yuriko as they walked up the street toward the SUV. It was parked about a hundred feet of so from the building entrance because Hotel Moscow did not allow vehicles in front except for those transporting one of the mafia bosses.

"I understand their concern about the situation," Yuriko said. "I'm sure Rika-san could tell me more about the incident they were referring to that happened in the past."

Revy, who was following the couple, looked back to Rika and Tajima. "Why would you know anything about that Yakuza mess?"

"Let's just say we read a report on it," Rika told her, wanting to avoid the subject, which could lead to them finding out they were active duty police officers.

Revy's eyes narrowed, but as she was about to question Rika further, her attention was drawn away to someone shouting, across the street and closer to the front of the mafia headquarters. Her eyes widened as she spun around and shoved Rock hard in the back, knocking him down beside the SUV. She grabbed Yuriko around the waist as she went by, spinning the woman around and taking her with her, as a flash of light went off behind the group.

Rika felt as if she had been kicked in the back as a shock wave hit her, slamming her into the back of the truck before she rebounded and rolled to the pavement. To her right she saw Tajima hit the wall of the building face first before going down in a heap.

000

"So, how do you feel about that story?" Chang asked Balalaika as they sat on the couch facing each other.

She frowned, "Survivalist I can understand. This tale of 'disease outbreak' I am a bit more skeptical of, but stranger things have happened."

The man snorted, "It was almost like they were going to say zombies were coming!"

The blond woman laughed out loud as the Chinese woman tittered.

"You no tell Sawyer that, Boss Chang," Shenhua laughed. "She get all excited and be really pissy when it no happen!"

Balalaika and Chang both laughed at the thought of the Goth girl going zombie crazy.

"Well I guess we better be heading back to the office," Chang said. "We still don't know who…" He was interrupted by a flash of light and the street side windows exploding inward.

In as instant, Shenhua grabbed the back of the couch and yanked, flipping it onto its back and tossing the two mafia leaders to the floor. This also served as a barrier against the glass and debris as she ducked down behind it with them.

"Паразитов! Они посмеет напасть мой дом!*" Balalaika roared as she jumped up and headed toward a wardrobe in one corner of the room. There she ripped open the door and pulled out her favorite Dragunov.

Shenhua leapt up and raced to the windows to look out. Keeping herself behind a column she quickly scouted the scene below. "Car bomb went off in street," she said. "Armed men attacking from across street, Twinkie getting into fight now!"

"Go help her protect the Japanese!" Chang shouted as he got up off the floor. Shaking glass from his coat, he reached behind his back and pulled his twin Beretta 76's. "I've got your back," he told Balalaika as she headed to the balcony where Shenhua was jumping over the rail.

000

Rika groaned as she got to her feet and rushed to Yuriko's side. The purple-hired woman was sitting up beside the truck holding her right hand where blood dripped. "How bad is it?" the policewoman asked.

Yuriko shook her head, "Just a scratch, go help Tajima, he's still down."

Rika ran to her partner, who was just trying to get to his feet, and dragged him to where Yuriko was. She looked the man over to find a piece of metal sticking out of his left bicep. His face was also turning dark with bruising where he had impacted the wall from the force of the explosion. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Revy, silver guns in her hands, looking around the end of the SUV.

"I'm going in!" the gunslinger called out as she dashed away towards the sound of rapid gunfire.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" Rika muttered as she drew her pistol.

"I'll take care of these two," Rock told her as he began to wrap a handkerchief around Yuriko's bleeding hand.

Rika stood up holding her gun out in a two-handed grip. She leaned over the hood of the truck and watched as Revy cut loose.

She was stunned. The auburn haired woman danced like she was doing Parkour. She raced forward firing, only to suddenly change direction; using anything she got near to push off of. She ducked, rolled, dove and spun, always firing at targets, that went down screaming, and always…with a huge grin on her face.

_She's like Saeko-chan…_ Rika thought. _A dancer, dealing death and enjoying it to no end. I wonder what a fight between those two would be like?_

She was surprised when the Chinese woman from before landed on the sidewalk nearby before racing toward them. She had two kukri knives in her hands as she stopped for a second by Rika.

"You cover Lady," she said in broken English. "I help Twinkie." With that she was off after Revy.

"In high-heels no less," Rika muttered as the knife welder joined in the fray. Suddenly Rika saw a dozen or so armed men run out of an ally and head toward the fight shouting in an unknown language.

"REVY! BEHIND YOU!" she called out as two of the men turned toward her and raised their rifles.

_POW! POW!...POW! POW!_ Her Taurus barked four times. She put two rounds in each man's chest, knocking them to the ground. As she took aim again there was a different sound of gunfire.

_KARACK!_ One of the attacking men's head exploded in a bloody mist.

Rika looked up to see the Hotel Moscow leader Balalaika, taking aim with a Russian sniper rifle. Boss Chang stood next to her providing cover, twin pistols in his hands.

"Dragunov…yeah that figures," she muttered as she shot another enemy fighter that had turned his attention toward her.

Suddenly Revy and the Chinese woman were in the middle of the attackers, dealing death. Rika watched the pair together in awe as they fought, sometimes even using each other to push off of, in their macabre dance.

As quickly as it started, it was over. Revy and the knife fighter stood in the street scanning around for threats, as the Russians set up a perimeter and began to search bodies.

Moving back to the SUV, the tall Chinese woman bent over and took a good look at Tajima's wound. "Aww, you get scratched," she rattled. "To bad, you kinda cute. Do better next time."

"Revy!" Chang called down from the balcony. "Get your people out of here before something else flares up! Shenhua, get ready we're leaving."

"Right!" the gunwoman called back. "Get him up, Rock, time to go."

"Bye bye, cutie, you get better soon," Shenhua told Tajima as she pinched his cheek. "Bye bye, asshole, see you later!" she said as she waved at Rock while walking away.

Rock and Rika helped Tajima get up and into the SUV with Yuriko, as Revy climbed in the passenger's seat. As Rika got in she said, "We need to get to a hospital to get Tajima checked out."

Revy barked a laugh as Rock glared at his partner, "Hospital, yeah right, we'll go to somebody that we know can help out, Benny's at the dock office Rock.

The man nodded as he started the truck and headed off as Tajima said, "Damn Chief, did you see the legs on that gal!?"

Rika face palmed herself as Revy and Yuriko laughed.

000

The salaryman drove quickly, but carefully through the streets of Roanapur. They worked their way down to the harbor where they pulled up in front a warehouse with a dock and boathouse beside it.

Rika and Rock helped Tajima out of the truck as Revy watched over Yuriko. Once out and standing on his own two feet, Tajima froze, looking towards the boathouse.

What he saw was a gray vessel with a red lower hull sitting in a set of rolling cradles on the slipway. Long tubes sat in line on the deck and with two tubs for machine gun emplacements beside the deck houses.

"Is that what I think it is?" he asked incredulously.

Rika, holding him steady on one side, focused on where he was looking. Her mouth hung open in surprise as she asked, "Is that…a torpedo boat!?"

"That's the _Black Lagoon_," Rock replied. "It's what we use in our…ah...work."

The Japanese police officers stared at him. "You use a PT boat for your courier work…?" Rika asked.

"Kohta-kun would lose it if he saw that thing," Tajima said as they started forward. "We gotta get him a picture!"

"Hey!" Revy called out from the stairwell above them. "Come on, Benny's waiting on ya!"

Climbing the stairs, they entered the office to find a couple of couches with a coffee table, desk, dining table, chairs, crates and metal shelves. Yuriko was sitting at the dining table with a nice looking man in his twenties with long blond hair. He had a medical kit in front of him and was painting antiseptic on the woman's cut hand.

"Hi, I'm Benny," he said. "Looks like you folks ran into some fun today. Set him down at the end of the table here."

They placed Tajima where his arm was resting on the tabletop and watched as Benny finished wrapping Yuriko's hand before turning towards the policeman's wound.

"Hmm, don't look too bad," he said. "First off I'm going to pull it out and then we need to get your coat and shirt off before I start work."

"Ugg," Tajima replied. "Just cut the clothing, it's ruined anyway and I already know how much this is going to hurt."

"Fine by me," the blond said as he picked up a pair of scissors. "Don't worry, I've got some morphine. I can give you a small shot once we get a good look at the cut. Not enough to knock you out, just deaden your arm."

"Cool, you got some good medical training huh? You an EMT?" the wounded man asked.

Revy choked on the beer she was guzzling while Rock sighed.

"Naw man, I'm an electronics tech. I hack computers and stuff. I've read some books though and have patched the rest of the crew up enough times I'm pretty confident I know what I'm doing."

Tajima's face went white as Rika's jaw dropped. "I changed my mind, Rika; I want Shizuka!" the wide eyed officer said.

Yuriko laughed before looking at Revy, "You have a very interesting group, Revy-san!"

"It really would be interesting if it was her crew, but it's not," someone with a deep rumbling voice said behind them.

They turned to find a muscular black man standing in a set of double doors that opened onto a deck between the warehouse and boathouse. Standing six foot plus, he was wearing OD green fatigue pants with combat boots and an OD green tank top. He was wiping his hands with a greasy towel as he walked towards the table.

"What do we have here?" he asked as he leaned over to look at the wound Benny was cleaning before removing the metal shard.

"Piece of metal in his arm, boss. Not bad, but I'm gonna put in about five stitches."

The big man grunted and stood up straight to look at Revy, "What did you do?"

"Hey it wasn't me!" the gunslinger exclaimed. "Some bunch is taking licks at Hotel Moscow and the Triad. They blew up a car bomb in front of Big Sis's place as we were coming out. We got tossed around some, but nothing to serious."

"Yuriko-san this is Dutch, the captain of the _Black Lagoon_ and our employer," Rock told her as he gestured to the big man.

She bowed slightly from where she sat, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Captain."

"Please, just call me Dutch," he said as he bowed in return. "I hope my employees have not been causing you too much trouble."

"Not at all," Yuriko replied. "They have been most helpful."

Dutch grunted as he nodded, "Well I better get back to work. We have a job in a few days and I need the boat in top shape. Benny, come help when you get through."

"Right boss man," the hacker said as he swabbed out the cut in Tajima's arm with antiseptic.

Dutch nodded and left the same way he had come in.

"Would you like something to drink?" Rock asked Yuriko.

"I think I could use a beer," she replied. "It has been a rather exciting day after all!"

Rock got her a cold one from the fridge and Revy leaned in closer to watch as Benny threaded a needle to start stitching. Having seen enough repair jobs in his time with the Lagoon Company, Rock stepped outside to the deck and leaned on the far rail, smoking and looking out over the harbor. A minute later, Rika joined him, pulling one of her cigars from its packet.

Rock pulled his lighter out and lit it for her as she watched him closely. He returned the stare for a minute before lowering his eyes. "I heard you tell Revy you read a report on the Washimine clan incident. She really does not understand how Japanese culture works, so she doesn't know the only way you could have read that was if you are SDF or National Police. Which are you, Rika-san?"

Rika sighed. She was afraid they would end up here and now the elephant was standing next to them. "I'm the Chief of the First Squadron SAT. Tajima's my partner."

Rock nodded and pulled on his cigarette for a minute before tossing the butt and lighting another one. He reached in his pocket and got his wallet, opened it and withdrew a picture. He looked at it for a few moments before handing it to Rika.

She knew it as soon as she saw it. "Washimine Yukio. She was a beautiful girl, I just can't understand how she ended up the way she did."

"I tried to save her," Rock said. "But she made the decision to step into the darkness and I couldn't pull her back. They ambushed me and Revy as we were trying to leave. She said something during Ginji's fight with Revy and it took his attention away for one second…that was all it took and it was over. She was so distraught afterwards she took his sword and killed herself. I watched her put that blade through her throat. I'll never forget that."

"Manslayer Ginji against Revy huh?" Rika said thoughtfully. "I bet that was a hell of a fight to see. This answers some other questions as well. Interesting thing, in the evidence room of the mafia crimes section there is a .380 pistol that has some very interesting fingerprints on it. Fingerprints from a man named Okajima Rokuro who had disappeared and was reported dead in the South China Sea."

Rock winced, "Where was this pistol found?"

"In the koi pond at the mansion where the Kousa Council leaders were killed. It was always a mystery how a dead man's prints ended up on a gun that killed the Yakuza bosses."

"I was there as an interpreter. Someone put it in my hand after the shooting was done. They told me to keep it as a souvenir, but I gave it back. I don't know what happened to it after that."

"I have a feeling I know who that someone was," Rika said. "The description of her was…a very distinct one with the scars she had on her face. The whole having 'Diplomatic Immunity' thing really shook some people up on the force. If they had tried to stop her there would have been a huge blow-up with the Russian Embassy."

"Which I guess is what she planned all along," Rock replied. "So the question now is…what are you going to do about it?"

Rika crossed her arms and turned around to lean back against the railing…to find Revy standing there glaring at them. The gunslinger had her own arms crossed under her breasts, but Rika knew by the stance it was so her hands would be close to the grips of those deadly silver Beretta's.

"Yeah _Chief_, what _are_ you going to do about it?" she asked, narrow, dead looking eyes focused on the Japanese policewoman.

Rika slowly eased her hands out in the open, fingers and palms wide, making sure the killer knew she was not going for her gun. "Don't guess I'm going to do anything, Revy. I have no jurisdiction here anyway. Plus while it satisfies me to have answers, what the hell is it going to matter anyway; the world is going to hell in about two months from now."

Revy relaxed slightly, "You really believe that shit about a disease outbreak?"

Rika nodded as she crossed her arms again, "That's what this is all about. Our source says it will happen and we believe him. His predictions have already been proven right over and over again."

Revy watched the other woman for a minute before pulling out her cigarettes and lighting one. Blowing out a cloud of smoke she shook her head, "It's almost like your saying there's gonna be zombies or some shit like that!"

Rika smirked as she lite another cigar, "And what if it was zombies? What would you do then?"

Revy laughed out loud, "Zombies in fucking Roanapur? In this city, the only thing worse than dead assholes are the live ones! They'd never stand a chance here. We'd slaughter'em before they could even get started!"

Rika looked down at the PT boat as she could hear Dutch banging on something metal. "I hope you're right, Revy-san, if you are there might be some hope for the human race to survive this."

"I'm done," Benny said as he walked out the door behind them. "Tajima's patched up and got his arm in a sling. Ms. Yuriko is sitting with him and waiting on you Rock. I'm going down to help Dutch."

"Thanks!" Rika said to him as he crossed over into the boathouse.

"Not a problem, have a good trip home!" he replied.

"Well let's get this finished," the salaryman said to the two women. "It's already dark and the streets of Roanapur are not the best for tourists to be roaming around late."

He went back inside and as Rika started to follow him, Revy held her hand up in front of the policewoman.

"Understand this; if they come for him I will hold _you_ responsible for it. Get me, Chief?"

Rika nodded in reply and the gunslinger dropped her hand and let her by.

"Yeah let's finish this shit. I want to get rid of you and get to the Flag to get a real drink!" Revy said as she followed the other two inside.

000

_1 month, 26 days until Z-Day: _

Several days later, safely back in Japan; the trio was met at the airport by Don Takagi with his big limo. He was very distressed at seeing their conditions and his wife being bandaged up.

Their arrival back at the Takagi mansion set the house in an uproar. They had just settled in the sitting room when a pink-hired teenage girl burst in the door followed by three other teens.

"Mama!" Takagi Saya cried out as she ran over and hugged Yuriko.

Her mother laughed, "Hello dear! Hello everyone, how are you today?"

"More importantly, are all of you okay?" Komuro Takashi asked as he noticed how roughed up the trio looked. Tajima had his arm in a sling and looked like he had been in a fight. Rika didn't show signs of injury, but Takashi could tell she was moving stiffly.

"Mama, what happened? You're hurt!" Saya exclaimed as she looked at the bandage wrapping her mother's hand.

"Don't worry, it's only a scratch from some broken glass," mother said.

"It sounds like you had a rather interesting trip," Busujima Saeko said. "But, was it profitable?"

Yuriko nodded, "Yes, it was. All of you sit down and we will tell you about it as soon as they bring our refreshments."

Takashi, Saeko and Hirano Kohta, Saya's boyfriend, settled on the one couch with Saya beside her mother on the other as the servers arrived with tea, drinks and snacks.

After taking a sip Yuriko sighed, "Ah…finally a good cup of tea."

"Well," Rika said with a smirk, "the old nun at the church had some good tea."

Yuriko smiled, "Yes, she did, that at least was one highlight of this trip."

The woman sipped her tea again and then started. "After arriving in Bangkok, we rented a car and drove south to a place called Roanapur, where we hoped to purchase the supplies we needed." She stopped and sighed, "I must tell you though, even after seeing some of the worst areas in New York, I believe this city to be the most terrible hive of crime and villainy maybe on the planet. Rika-san had made contact with an information broker, and after meeting with him, he contacted someone from a courier company that could accompany us and help find what we wanted. When they arrived we were surprised to find a young Japanese salaryman with an escort."

Rika snorted, "Escort…that's a light term for her. She was a gunslinger at least, a yojimbo at best."

"Yojimbo?" Takashi said. "A female bodyguard? Protecting a Japanese salary-man?"

Rika nodded, "Chinese American and you would have never met a more foul-mouthed bitch of a woman ever. I do have to give her credit though; she was good at her job and protected him like…well, like Saeko-chan would protect you, Takashi.'

The boy's eyebrows went up as did one of Saeko's. "What did she look like if he was dressed like a salaryman?" Takashi asked.

Rika and Tajima both smirked, "She was about my height, lean and trim, but well built. She wore jungle style combat boots with cutoff blue jeans and a black tank-top. She had reddish hair and carried two custom built silver Beretta's in a double shoulder holster rig."

"She's crazy good in a gun fight also," Tajima chimed in.

"Gunfight!? You got involved in a gunfight!?" Kohta asked sitting up in surprise.

Rika shook her head. "No, not really, but I'm getting ahead of Yuriko-san's story."

The teens sat wide eyed as Yuriko told the story of the church, the strange nuns that ran it, being taken before the mafia leaders and the attack that led to them getting injured.

After she finished Takashi asked, "How badly are you hurt, Tajima-san?"

"Not much at all," the man replied. "I took a little piece of shrapnel on the upper arm and got banged up pretty good when the explosion threw me against the wall of a building. More sore now than anything, but I'll be okay in a few days."

"What about you, Mama?" Saya asked looking at her mother hand.

"Oh don't worry, dear," the woman said. "I was just walking behind a parked car when a piece of glass nicked me. One of Rock-san's other business partners, a blond American man, was a very good medic."

"As long as you are all okay," her husband said. "Now comes the hard part. We have to wait until this all starts."

The others nodded.

* * *

A/N: *Russian for "Parasites! They dare to attack my house!"

As always, Please leave a review, favorite and/or follow.


	3. Chapter 3

From this point on the story will be more Black Lagoon then Highschool of the dead.

I do not own the characters from Black Lagoon or Highschool of the dead.

* * *

_3 days till Z-Day Japan:_

It was a Saturday around seven in the evening in Roanapur and Rock was sitting at Dutch's desk looking over some accounts. He, Revy and Benny were waiting for their boss to get back from meeting with Balalaika before heading to the Yellow Flag for drinks

Revy was watching some comedy show when Rock's phone rang. She glanced at him for a moment as he answered it and when she looked back at the television, a news program had broken in and was flashing "Unrest in the Balkans" on the screen. "Now what the fuck are those idiots doing?" she muttered as she started flipping channels for something else to watch.

Rock looked at his phone and realized the number was Yuriko's. "Hello, Yuriko-san?" he asked as he answered.

"_Good evening__,__ Rock-san. I wanted to let you know the ship arrived with no trouble and the balance for your services ha__s__ been moved to your account. Also I wanted to talk to you about something that I think will be of great importance to you and your friends,"_ she said.

"I'm glad it arrived okay; thank you for your business. What did you want to talk about?"

"_Just after noon today Tokyo time we were alerted to problems in Budapest, Hungary. It is as we feared and the outbreak has started."_

Rock sat quiet for a minute before speaking again, "Please forgive me for questioning you, but do you have any proof you could provide?"

The woman laughed lightly, _"Of course__,__ Rock-san, turn to any news channel. Then give me an email address you trust to receive links and video."_

"Just a minute please," he said as he lowered the phone. "Revy! Turn the channel to CMN News. See what's going on."

"I'm already on it! All they're doing is bitching about some kind of religious disturbance in Budapest, Vienna and Sarajevo," she told him.

Rock watched for a minute before going back to the phone, "A religious disturbance?"

"_That is what the news services are currently calling it,"_ Yuriko said. _"Rika-san said she thinks they are doing this to try to contain the public panic. __All they are doing__ is compounding the problem by not letting people get ready for what is coming."_

"Just a minute please," the salaryman told her. "Benny! Do you have a secure email for links and video?"

The blond hacker rolled to the door of his computer room, "Who's asking?"

"Yuriko-san," Rock replied. "She wants to send us info on that thing they were watching for. She's on the phone and says it's started."

Benny blinked at him for a second before rattling off a set of letters and numbers.

Rock relayed the address and he heard Yuriko repeat it to someone else, then say, _"Relay all data and feeds we are sending out to this address please."_ before speaking to him again. _"It should come across in a moment__,__ Rock-san. Before I say anything else please tell me what you think."_

"Alright, give us just a second," he said as he headed for Benny's room. Revy, now curious got up and followed him.

"Data's coming in now," Benny told him as he took position behind the hacker. They watched silently as a woman and two men, bloody and staggering, attacked and killed another man, leaving him on the pavement in front of the camera. Benny fast-forwarded the video until the man, now slack jawed and showing only the whites of his eyes, got up and shambled off.

"Holy shit…" the electronics tech muttered as he raced through the different links at speeds Rock couldn't follow.

The Japanese man put the phone back to his ear again, as collected as could be in this moment, "How…how do you fight this?"

"_I have sent strategies and tactics in a text file with the information packet. I have also included the GPS coordinates for the island we will be going to. I know from what Rika said__,__ your torpedo boat does not have the range for the trip, but stranger things have happened."_ The woman sighed, _"That's all I can do for you__,__ Rokuro-san. Is Rebecca-san there with you?"_

"Yes, she's right here," he said as he glanced at his partner, who was watching the web cam feeds with Benny.

"_Then I will bid you good luck and long life. Let me speak with her please."_

Rock said the same to her and held out the phone to Revy.

"Who is it?" the gunslinger asked.

"Yuriko-san, she wanted to speak to you for a minute," he replied.

Staring at the phone for a second, she took it and walked back into the crew lounge.

"What do you think, Benny," Rock asked as the computer window screens flew by.

"I've already got Janet and a dozen other hackers on the case. As far as we can tell…this is real. The governments in the cities that have already been overrun are trying to do info control, but the story is starting to get out."

"Where's Janet?"

"Hong Kong doing some work for Boss Chang's people. She's packing up and getting on a flight in the next few hours though. She'll be in Bangkok within six hours after that IF everything holds together that long," he said.

Rock nodded, "We have email addresses for Hotel Moscow and Boss Chang right?"

"Yeah, we exchange info on a regular basis. Want me to send this over?"

"Yes go ahead," Rock said. "I need to get Dutch on the phone and then I'll try to talk to Ms. Balalaika and Chang. Then we will figure out where to go from there."

Benny nodded as Rock went into the other room to find Revy standing by the desk looking at the cell phone.

"Revy?" he said. "Are you alright? What did she say?"

She looked up at him and if he didn't know better, he would have thought there was a tear in her eye. Now Rock had seen Revy cry, but only once or twice and under circumstances that he really didn't want to get into.

The woman sniffed slightly and handed him the phone. "She umm…" she started, before taking a pause. "She told me to make sure to protect you and…umm that she was proud to have met such a strong and interesting woman… No one's ever told me anything like that before Rock…not nobody like her…not once."

He reached out and pulled her close to him. He understood what she meant and what she was feeling. Most of the world would curse Revy Two-Hands name and would have never said they were proud to meet her.

"She's a very special woman herself," he said as they hugged each other.

"What did I tell you two about doing that in the office?" Dutch said as he walked in the door.

Rock smirked as Revy growled into his chest. "We have a situation, Dutch," the salaryman said as he let her go. "The event Yuriko-san and her friends were talking about seems to have started."

Dutch stopped and frowned for a moment, "That Japanese woman and her bodyguards from a couple of months ago? What's happened?"

"Come on and we'll show you," Rock said as he motioned for the big man to follow him.

Revy stood by the desk for a minute before sitting down and pulling out a pen and paper. "If it was the end of the world, what would I want to stock up on?" she muttered to herself.

000

Balalaika was on the phone when Chang was escorted into her office. She waved for him to sit down while she talked and looked at something on her computer.

A few minutes later she put the phone down and said, "Come look at this. Rock sent some intel over for us. It comes from those yaponskiy from several months back."

Chang frowned as he leaned over to look at the screen, "That bunch of survivalist that bought the load of guns from the church?"

"Da," she replied. "They told him the product was delivered and warned him their 'outbreak' had started."

The couple watched the videos for several minutes before Balalaika picked up her phone and gave Sgt. Boris some orders. By that time more information from Benny had come in and they were starting to see the scope and speed the outbreak was moving at.

Chang went back to the couch and sat down, crossing his legs and lighting a smoke. Behind his sunshades his eyes were a million miles away as he thought. Balalaika didn't say anything to him, she knew when he got this way he was processing plans and strategies in his mind. She was thinking herself, what to do, how to do it and how to respond to this.

Chang got up and walked over to a table that had bottles of alcohol and glasses. He poured two tumblers of vodka and brought them back to her desk, placing one in front of her. She nodded her thanks and sipped on it as he leaned on the desk, still thinking.

"Okay," he finally said. "First thing I'm thinking is blow the bridge into the city."

She nodded, "That would slow the tide down for a little while, but not forever."

"What next?" he asked.

"Shoot down any aircraft that comes with in range and when it crashes, send troops to make sure everyone on board is dead."

He nodded, "I can see that, what about by sea? Dutch has the _Lagoon_, but at the most he could only take down four ships. I don't know if he has any reloads."

She shook her head, "He doesn't and only has two torpedoes in the forward tubes now. I have been trying to help him find more, but those older models are getting hard to come by and are very expensive. Sooner or later someone that is infected is going to get on the island."

"Then it's 'game over'," he replied. "So…what about a fallback?"

She clicked the mouse a couple of times, opening a file. The printer across the room started buzzing as paper fed into it. "I'm printing the strategies and tactics text file they sent. Someone has done a really good job in laying out how to handle these…creatures."

Chang smirked, "I bet it was that 'Rika-san', the female bodyguard that was with them. Rock told me later she and her partner were members of the Japanese strategic assault teams. They're supposed to really know their stuff."

Balalaika nodded, "They are not combat veterans, but they are well trained. If my men had run into them while we were in Japan it would have been a lot more…interesting shall we say."

Chang grunted, he knew what the ex-Captain meant when she said 'interesting'.

"The _Maria Zeleska_ is here and the data they sent suggests going to sea is the best way to survive. I understand now why they were setting up a base on an island in the Pacific. I would not want to live on the ship for good, but we could put a lot of supplies on board."

"Sounds like a plan," he said. "Next question is, how many can be carried and who will you allow on board?"

She leaned back in her chair and watched him for a minute as she smoked her cigar. Her eyes met his as he looked back at her, a slight smirk on his lips. Lips that she had…come to enjoy.

"I will not insult you by saying I am not…fond of you, Chang, but I think I am better at military matters than you are."

He smiled, "I agree with you there, and I think I'm better with administration and policing than you are. A gentle hand to turn the wheels, a firm hand to keep things straight."

"What are you thinking then…Babe?"

He chuckled. She knew he hated that nickname, which is precisely why she used it. Actually from her he didn't mind any more. It was something special between him and a woman that was not prone to showing her affections.

"How about a joint command?" he suggested. "Military and combat matters are your area, admin and logistics mine."

"I can agree to that. Also while we are aboard ship I run things."

"Not a problem," he replied.

"One more thing," she said, her eyes getting darker. "I want you to promise me that if it does not work, if everything fails, you and I…we will finish that discussion we had at the yacht club."

He frowned, thinking back to the night they had almost killed each other. It had only been because she had been knocked through the railing into the water, as he went down with her bullets in him, that they both lived. She had been fished out by a certain passing torpedo boat and he had been dragged off to the hospital by his men. It was the one fight neither of them had finished and was also the basis of their respect for each other.

He leaned over and cupped her face in his hand. He pressed his lips to her and kissed her…inhaling some of the smoke she had just drawn in right before. He withdrew slightly and they both exhaled smoke as he spoke.

"I promise you, Sofiya, if it comes to that we will finish it. You will never die by any other hand than mine."

She smiled demurely and kissed him again before he drew back. "Next question is, when we bug-out where do we go?"

He lit another cigarette, "I've got some ideas on that. Where are your maps of the region?"

"Down in mission planning," she replied as she got up.

He followed her out the door and waved for Biu, who was sitting outside, to come along. "Biu I want you to get Shenhua and Lotton on the phone and get them over here. Also contact the section heads and have them at the office waiting for orders when I issue them."

The tall Chinese man nodded and began to dial his phone.

000

Dutch was rolling a tool chest down the dock where Benny was waiting to help him load the _Lagoon_. As he positioned it in line with the gangway, his phone rang.

Looking at it he called out, "Give me a minute, Benny, it's Balalaika."

"Sure boss," the other man replied as he checked his phone for the umpteenth time in an hour.

"Good evening, Ms. Balalaika, what can I do for you?" Dutch answered.

"_Good evening__,__ Dutch,"_ she replied back. _"I hope you are not too busy to come pay me a visit?"_

The big man sighed, "While I'm sure it would be entertaining, I'm sorry but we are very busy getting ready to set sail."

The phone was silent for a few seconds before the woman spoke again. _"Is it a job__,__ Dutchy, or a bug-out?"_ she asked quietly.

Dutch thought about his words carefully before replying, "We think it might be time to go fishing for a few weeks. Once we see how the wind blows we might come back."

"_I see,"_ she said. _"What if I told you Chang and I were looking at a way to hold the city for a while. Would you consider coming to see me then?"_

"I'm listening," he said.

"_What if I also told you I know a PT boat works best when it has a tender__ship. For your part in helping I can offer the_ _Maria Zeleska as a base ship for supplies and operations in the coming months."_

"Okay, now I'm _REALLY_ listening," he replied with a smirk on his face as he looked across the harbor where the Russian freighter was docked. He could already see men swarming over her and trucks standing by to be unloaded.

"_Come and hear what we have to say and bring your crew. We know we will not be able to hold this off completely, but we might hold it back until better plans are laid,"_ she said.

"Rock and Revy are out gathering supplies, so it's just Benny and me. Let me get through with what I'm doing and we'll come over. Shouldn't be more then fifteen minutes."

"_Good, we will see you then,"_ she said with satisfaction in her voice. _"Bye__-__bye__,__ Dutchy."_

Dutch put the phone back in his pocket and turned to find Benny on the phone. He waited till the blond man hung up before asking, "What's up?"

"That was Janet. She couldn't get a straight through flight so she had to take a one-stop that goes through Kunming. Its nine hours instead of six though so she won't be in Bangkok till 7am. Three and a half hours to drive back here and it will be almost noon before we get in."

"That's not good but if that's all she can get so be it. Let's get this loaded and then we have to go see Balalaika and Chang. They want to talk to us about trying to hold the city at least for a little while before we all bug-out," Dutch told him.

Benny looked stunned, "Can they even do that? Dutch you've seen what's going on. Police and military aren't doing much to hold this back at all!"

"I don't know, Benny-boy, but we are at least going to look at what they have to say," he replied. "We have some time yet before it should reach this part of the country. Now let's get this done, grab a tuk-tuk and head over to see them."

The hacker nodded as he grabbed hold of the heavy toolbox and pulled it onto the boarding ramp.

000

The red GTO raced up the hill the Rip Off Church sat on and slid to a stop out front. Revy was out the door and running towards the side entrance before Rock could turn it off. As he followed her, he could hear her talking to Eda who was bitching about what time it was.

"I don't care, Eda! We got a rush job and I need a bunch of stuff!"

Rock touched her lightly on the shoulder as he spoke, "Eda we need to see Sister Yolanda. I know it's late, but we are under a time crunch."

"I don't think the old penguin is even awake," Eda said as a dark shadow stepped up behind her.

"Yes, the old penguin is awake and _will_ see them," the old woman said as Eda flinched.

"Yes sister," the blond grumbled as she waved the couple inside.

Instead of the meeting room they followed Yolanda to the kitchen where they found Rico washing dishes. Sitting at the dining table the woman clasped her hands in front of her and waited for them to sit. "Now, what can we do for you young man?"

"We need all of these calibers and as much as you have of each, or at least as much as we can carry," he told her as he handed a list across the table.

She looked at him in surprise as she glanced over the paper, "Goodness Rock, what are you about to do, start a war?"

Revy started opening her mouth as Rock touched her arm again. She slumped back and crossed her arms in disgust, but checked her temper for once.

"Do you remember several months back when we brought the Japanese group to see you?" Rock asked.

The woman nodded, "Yes we all came out well on that deal and the goods have been delivered now, correct?"

"They arrived on site yesterday and they said to thank you for your service," he told her. "The thing is, what they were afraid of has come to pass and we have been warned to prepare for a coming storm."

"What do you mean?" the old nun asked.

"We have been provided information that there is an outbreak of a disease in the Balkans that is spreading very fast across the globe. We, the Lagoon Company, are going to take a vacation till things blow over. Since we don't know what the climate will be like when we return, we want to stock up as best we can beforehand, thus the list."

The old woman and Eda looked at each other, "Eda, I think you need to check in with your friends."

"I'll do that right now," the blond said as she left the room.

"Now, not wanting to totally deplete our stocks what is the least you can get by with?" Yolanda asked them.

"I want at least ten cases of each if ya got'em," Revy replied. "More 9mm, 7.62x51 and 5.56 if we can get it, three cases of RPG 7's and three for my 40mm grenade launcher. A few other things I want are…

000

It was almost midnight when Rock and Revy was finally loaded and left for home. The GTO's suspension had groaned from all the extra weight as they slowly pulled away.

After watching them leave, Yolanda went back inside and headed to the basement where she found Eda in a shielded computer room. The blond woman had pulled her nun's habit off and was walking back and forth reading what the computer techs had printed out for her.

"What do you know?" the old woman asked. She sighed as she sat down, her body was no longer able to pull all-nighters like she had in her youth.

"It's bad, super, super bad," Eda told her. "Langley says they are aware of the situation and to 'act as I see fit' which means they're writing us off."

"Oh my…" Yolanda said as she scanned over the notes. "So this is real?"

"The way this is moving it will cover the whole world in about three days. So far every opposing force has been overrun. We do know some things though, they don't seem to be able to see or smell. They hunt by sound, so if you can be quiet you might be able to get away. Langley also says Defense is having a real hard time believing they can't just blast the shit out of everything and win. Oh, head shot or remove the head is the only thing that kills them."

The old woman watched as the video's that was spreading across the net, played on the computer screens in front of her. "So what are you going to do?"

Eda thought for a minute before replying, "I think it is time to reevaluate my employment standing with the US government. They told me to use my own judgment so I think I'll do just that. I wonder if Dutch could use another hand onboard the _Lagoon_? What about you?"

Yolanda smiled, "I'm far too old to be trying to start over again in a brave new world. I'll stay here and see what happens. Good luck, Eda."

With that the blond nodded and left the room.

000

_Jackpot Rowan's GoofFest Strip Club: Just after mid-night._

"What's wrong with you, Dumitru? You don't look so well,"

Two Romanian men sat at the bar as they watched the strippers gyrate on the main stage. One was looking a little worse for wear.

"I don't know, Serghei, I think I'm getting flu," the one called Dumitru said. "I don't know why though, I took that shot they were giving out at the church in Bucharest before coming here."

"Dumbass," Serghei said. "I never take those things. Every time I did I got the flu. Better to leave that alone. Here, let me treat you tonight! I'm glad to finally have my little brother working with me! Mali! Mali girl come see me!"

A well-built Thai woman came over, fake boobs bouncing as she walked, "What you want, Serghei? I no feel like get fucked in ass tonight!"

The man laughed, "No, no! Not for me tonight. This my little brother Dumitru. He just get in town and not feeling so good. Why don't you take him and show him what you can do, eh? I'll pay for you all night. You make sure he come out with huge grin on his face in morning, right?"

"I don't know, Serghei, maybe I need to just go rest tonight," his brother said, but his eyes were glued to Mali's breasts.

"Eh what wrong, you no like me?" the whore asked, teasing. "You feel bad, baby? We get you some medicine then you feel good. You lay back and rest, I do all work, stud."

With that she took his arm and led him into the back where her entertaining room was.

_Z-day for Roanapur_

000

"But Ms. Balalaika, I need to drive to Bangkok and pick up Janet at the airport! If you blow the bridge we won't be able to get back in!"

The Russian woman looked at the blond hacker for a minute before responding. "I'm sorry, Benny, but we have to think of more than just your girlfriend. If we don't do this now we run to much risk of letting infected in."

"Wait a minute, Benny," Dutch said before his crewman opened him mouth again. "Look, you said she was not going to be in until 7am right? Check the flights and see, but there should be a shuttle going from Bangkok to Rayong International in Sattahip about that time. Have her jump that and we can run up the coast and pick her up at the docks near there. It will only take about three hours one way and it will give us a chance to recon what is going on north of here."

"Yeah, yeah that'll work!" Benny replied as he called up flight times on one of the computers in the room. "I'll send her a text to call me when she lands in Kunming. It should only be about another hour."

Balalaika nodded to Dutch as Chang let out a breath he was holding. Another small crisis diverted, they went back to looking at the lists and maps in front of them. Rock and Revy walked in the door just then with Shenhua and Lotton following them.

"Everyone is up to speed on what is going on, Ms. Balalaika," Rock said as he stopped next to Dutch. He and Revy had dropped the ammo off at the boat and then made their way over to Hotel Moscow for the planning session. Balalaika had asked Rock to brief her lieutenants and non-coms on what they knew.

"Thank you, Rock," she said as Dutch's phone rung. She watched as he stepped to the hall to answer it. A minute later he stepped back in the room.

"Trouble Dutch?" she asked seeing the puzzled look on his face.

He shook his head no, "It seems Eda has reevaluated her employment options and thrown in the towel at the church. She went to the Lagoon to see if I had any openings, but of course we aren't there. She's coming over now."

"Can't say I'm not surprised," Rock said. "She never seemed like the type to give her all for the faith."

They all stared at him for a moment before Chang cracked up. His laughter was infectious and everyone else joined in.

Rock smirked as everyone laughed and Revy punched him lightly on the arm.

"Idiot," Revy said with a grin. "Hey Rock, what's that Japanese word you was trying to teach me? The one for idiot?"

"Baka," Rock replied.

"Yeah that's it; baka! I like that one!" she said as she leaned closer to him. "BAAAKAAA!"

This caused Chang to crack up again as Balalaika smiled.

"By the way," Rock said. "Where's Sawyer, Shenhua? I would have thought she would be with the two of you."

Lotton frowned as the Chinese woman's face turned sour. "She no come," Shenhua said, her voice sad. "You know she crazy, she no listen. She say she want to 'join the horde' when it come."

"We tried to convince her," Lotton said as he pushed his shades up his nose. "She went crazy and chased us out with her chainsaw. Nothing more we can do."

In the silence after the white haired man's statement Dutch's phone rang loudly. Looking at it, he frowned before answering, "Hey Eda, I thought you were head…what…wait a minute I'm putting you on speaker." He lay the phone on the planning table and tapped the button, "Now repeat that. What's going on and where are you?"

"_I'm on Rachiada Street near Rowan's place,"_ they could all hear the sound of her motorcycle and gunfire in the background. _"Those creatures, the infected ones, the…SHIT, fucking zombies! Their god-damned everywhere!"_

"Can you tell where they're coming from?" Dutch asked as the others looked at each other in shock.

"_Seem to be more of them around the GoofFest, but I can't be sure. Their staggering all over the place and biting anybody that gets near them. A bunch of people are fighting them, but they don't know about shooting the damned things in the head!"_

"Get out of there, go back to the boat!" Dutch told her.

"_You ain't gotta tell me twice! I'll be there when you get there!"_ with that she hung up.

"Now what?" Revy asked.

Balalaika snarled as she crushed the cigar she had in her hand to little pieces, "They're inside our perimeter and our men are out of position to contain them."

"How in the hell did they get into the middle of the city?" Chang asked. "The first attack should have come from the outside!"

Rock's eyes widened as he put the pieces together. "Someone was already sick with the virus, but had not turned," he said, rubbing the back of his neck as he thought. "Yuriko-san's information said this comes from an immunization shot that has mutated so maybe someone from the Balkans that had that shot was here."

"That makes sense," Chang said. "We got Bulgarians, Hungarians, Romanians, Czech's and everything else running around this city. We got so focused on keeping it out, I never thought about a carrier could already be here."

"None of us did," Balalaika said. "This is not the type of fight we are used to. We know how to handle a force coming at us, but this is different."

"So what do we do now?" Dutch asked.

The Hotel Moscow leader picked up her phone, "Vasiliy, how is loading going?...How much longer?...The enemy has been sighted in the city, set up a perimeter and remind everyone head shots only. Do not let the enemy come within physical contact. Shoot to kill anyone that looks sick or will not respond to challenge…We should be on site soon." Hanging up she looked at everyone, "The ship will be finished loading in about four hours."

"Then I think it's time to go," Chang said.

Balalaika watched the man for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Boris, we're leaving!" she called out. Turning to the crew of the _Lagoon_ she said, "We'll see you at the docks, Dutch."

"Right," he replied. "Let's go people! Elvis is leaving the building!"

There was a flurry of activity as maps were snatched up, computers shutdown and unhooked to be dumped on carts to be rolled out. Everyone headed down the hall to the front lobby where the _Lagoon_ crew parted ways and headed to their car.

"Rock, open the trunk," Revy said as they ran up. She reached in as he did and pulled out Dutch's shotgun, a backpack full of ammo for it and his pistol. "Here, Merry Christmas," she told her boss.

"Thanks Rebecca, I'm glad you thought ahead," he said with a grin.

Once they were in the car she said, "Hey Dutch, give me your multi-tool!" Once he handed the device back, she opened the pliers and pulled out one of her Cutlasses. She started removing the barrel caps that normally covered the end threads, before reaching to another backpack on the floorboards to pull out a pair of suppressers.

"I thought you didn't like using those, "Rock said as she finished.

"Yeah, I like getting my ass bit off by a fucking zombie freak even less though," she replied with a grin as Benny fired up the engine and peeled out.

000

Balalaika and Chang stopped on the street and watched the red GTO roar away.

"Anything else you need before we leave?" she asked the Triad boss.

He took his time replying, lighting a smoke before turning to her. "Everything I need is already at the ship or standing right here," he said with a smirk.

She rolled her eyes as she shook her head, "Really Babe, you're acting like a schoolboy going on a date, control yourself."

He laughed as a Jeep SUV pulled up with Boris driving and Biu in the shotgun seat. Getting in they settled and watched the city pass by as they headed towards the docks.

* * *

A/N: For actions of Rika and her crew, please read Time Trax under my profile.

As always please Review, Favorite and Follow!


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own the characters from Black Lagoon or Highschool of the dead.

* * *

Rock groaned as he opened his eyes. He was crammed into the passenger corner of the back seat with Revy tangled on top of him. Looking past her, he could see Dutch starting to sit up and help Benny out of the front floorboards. Looking past them, the hood of the GTO was crushed around a light pole with steam from the engine coolant boiling out from under it.

"What the fuck hit us?" Revy moaned as her disentangled herself from him.

"Truck tagged us on the driver's rear quarter," he said, looking out the shattered back glass. "Hit us when we came through that intersection and spun us around into this pole."

The wrecked delivery van was lying on its side in the middle of the road. Rock saw movement as two figures shuffled towards them. He froze in shock as he recognized the creatures when they came closer.

"HOLY FUCK!" Benny cried out as one of the walking dead stuck its head in the driver's side window and snapped at him.

"MOTHERFUCKERS!" Revy screamed as the blond man scrambled backwards, literally into Dutch's lap. _POP! POP! POP! POP!_ Four silenced shots went off as her Beretta's went into action.

They all sat gasping for a minute before Dutch rumbled, "You know, Benny, I can't shoot the damn zombies if you're sitting in my lap."

"Uh, yeah," the hacker said as he slid back to his side of the car.

"Alright, everyone out. Looks like we hoof it from here," Dutch said as he straightened his glasses.

"Toss me the backpack, Rock," Revy said as she exited through the back window.

Doing as she commanded, he crawled out himself as the pair in the front went out the passenger side door. Rock looked around, but did not see any more shamblers? Walkers? Whatever they were going to call them?

"Put this on," Revy said as she held out the pack. "It's got extra ammo in it and some water."

"Right," he replied. He paused for a second and then jogged over to the overturned truck.

"Rock! Where are you going!?" she hissed as he carefully leaned in the broken windshield.

"Ha!" he said as he stood back up. "I thought I saw this," he turned to show her a metal baseball bat.

She nodded, "Good idea, but can you swing that and carry the ammo?"

He took a couple of practice swings and nodded, "Yeah, if it gets too much I'll give the backpack to Benny." He then reached up and pulled his teal tie off. He stared at it a minute before tossing it into the air for it to drift off and hang onto the wrecked trucks mirror.

"I don't fucking believe it," Revy said as Dutch and Benny stood behind her. "It took the end of the fucking world to get that damned tie off of you."

Rock grinned and shrugged his shoulders as Dutch snorted in amusement.

"While this is entertaining, daybreak is coming on. I'll take point, Benny and Rock in the middle and Revy you pull drag."

"Don't shoot unless you just have to, boss," Revy said. "I'll handle it unless it gets to crowded."

"Right," he replied. "Let's move out."

They all started slightly as Benny's phone rang. As he stepped to the side to answer it Rock said, "Guess we all better put ours on silent huh?" The other nodded as Benny rejoined them.

"That was Janet. They're in Kunming and behind schedule. She said there was a lot of talk and confusion going on at the airport about disrupted flights and such. She agreed to what you suggested about the shuttle, Dutch, but she also said she was starting to get real scared about the way people are acting."

"Understandable," Dutch said as he swiveled his head back and forth watching for threats. "But nothing we can do about it now so let's go. Hand signals only, boys and girls."

They got quiet as he led off down the street.

000

"Well this is just lovely," Chang said as he shot a zombie in the head and kicked it backwards away from them.

"And it started out to be such a nice night," Balalaika quipped as she dispatched two more.

They had started out fine, but half way to the docks the convoy found itself blocked by wrecks and fires every way they turned. Abandoning the vehicles, they proceeded on foot, troops carrying the most important items while leaving everything else to the undead.

Shenhua flashed by slashing the undead across their necks as Lotton's twin Mausers barked.

"Nice to see him shooting instead of posing for once," Chang said with a smirk as the knife wielder stopped to clean her blades on the body of one she had just taken down.

"I tell him if he do I cut little head off," the assassin rattled in her sing-song voice.

"It was a great motivator," the white haired man muttered as Chang and Balalaika tried not to laugh out loud.

"We have a clear path the next three blocks, Kaptain," Boris told the blond woman.

"Move out," she replied.

Two Russian scouts jogged ahead with a couple of Triad men backing them up. The command group came next with thirty or so other troops from both groups following. Within a few minutes though, one of the scouts came running back.

"Kaptain! We found the Lagoon's car wrecked at the next intersection!" he reported. "No blood inside and no bodies."

Balalaika nodded and waved the man forward. She waited until they arrived at the wreck, where she and Chang looked it over before speaking.

"Got hit by that truck," Chang said as he motioned toward the overturned delivery van. "They capped two undead and I bet hiked off that way."

"I agree," Balalaika replied. "And look at this," she motioned to Rock's tie hanging from the mirror of the wreck, blowing in the breeze.

"Yep, end of the world alright," Chang quipped as she glared at him.

She pointed down the side street from where the truck had come from. They could see a horde of zombies staggering along toward them.

"Good thing they are slow," she said as she waved for their people to move on.

"I'm more worried about numbers," Chang said. "If we get surrounded all the ammo in the world will not do us any good."

"Da," she replied quietly as they marched on.

000

"I don't see what's so fucking hard about this," Revy said as she capped two undead. "They're slow as hell and as long as you stay out of reach your good!"

"Numbers, Revy," Rock said as he swung his bat into the head of an undead hooker. "Get too many around you, run out of ammo and you're done for."

"You're doing pretty well, Rocky-baby!" she said with a grin as she swapped magazines. "I was worried when you hesitated on that first one."

They had gotten surrounded by ten or twelve walkers and were pressed hard while Revy took them on with her suppressed Cutlasses. Dutch was using the butt stock of his shotgun, and Benny had picked up an arm's length of metal pipe to hold them off while the others finished them.

The first one Rock crushed was a street vendor he recognized. He had paused for a second before bringing the bat crashing down.

"They're not people; they're already dead. I'm just putting them to rest," he said, as he took the empty mags from her and started loading them with fresh rounds as they walked.

"However you want to look at it, slugger," she told him as she bumped against him lightly. "Just be careful and don't let them get a hand on ya."

He nodded and handed her one of the reloaded mags as he started on the other.

"Here's the office," Dutch said as they walked by the building. "Anybody got anything they can't live without?"

"Na, we had already moved everything to the boat or the warehouse office," Revy said as Benny and Rock shook their heads.

Rock looked back at the building as he thought about all the adventures that had started there. He smiled as the images of Revy and the others sitting on the couches, laughing, eating pizza and drinking, went through his mind. He remembered seeing it for the first time after their fight with the Extra Order Company and his dealings with his former boss. They had walked in and while Rock was standing looking around, Revy had plopped onto one of the couches and said, "First order of business is get me a beer, the fridge is over there, Rock."

That set the tone for thereafter. Rock, being low man on the pole, ended up being the cleanup man, mostly after Revy of course. Dutch and Benny were good about picking up after themselves; it was Revy that was the slob.

"What are you grinning about?" the gunslinger asked with a smirk.

"Just thinking about all the good times we had in that building," he replied.

"Yeah we had a few," she said as her smirk turned into a grin.

"And that was why inter-employee relations at the office were banned," Dutch rumbled.

"You're such a spoilsport, Dutch," Revy quipped as she stretched her arms over her head.

"Stand still and quiet down for a minute," the big man muttered as a bunch of undead came into view.

The four companions stood in the middle of the street, weapons ready, as a group of about twenty walkers shuffled around them. Dutch pushed one that got too close away with the barrel of his shotgun, but the creature didn't seem to notice, just moved on in the new direction it was pointed.

"That's just weird," Dutch said as the monsters got out of hearing range of hushed conversation.

"I know, right?" Revy said. "Strong as hell, can kill with one bite, but stupid as shit. A little thinking and planning and you should be able to survive this shit!"

"Thanks to Yuriko-san, we had at least a few hours warning," Rock said as Dutch nodded.

"If I ever get to meet the lady again, I'm gonna bow down good and proper to thank her and that Rika-san both," their boss told them. "Right now though, ten more blocks to go till the docks, let's get to it."

000

"I grow tired of this," Balalaika said as Shenhua dispatched another of her men that got too close to the undead and was bitten.

"It's a real problem," Chang said. "We can take them down, but the gunfire just draws more of them. Shenhua's doing the best because she's using her knives, but she's not superwoman." He looked over where the Chinese assassin was leaning on Lotton's arm getting her breath back.

"We need more hand-to-hand weapons," Balalaika replied.

Some of their men had picked up wooden boards to use as clubs and a few had metal pipes, but it was a small percentage of the people with them. Some of Chang's men had silenced pistols, but with the amount of walkers they were running into, ammunition was starting to get low.

Boris jogged up with something in his hands. "Permission to try something, Kaptain," he said as he held up some wire with two handles attached to it.

"Where did you find that?" she asked, looking over the device.

"There is a music shop just down the street. It has plenty of piano wire as well as metal microphone stands."

"Guitars, does it have any electric guitars?" Chang asked.

"Da, quite a few," Boris said.

"What are you thinking, Chang?" Balalaika asked.

"Electric guitars are solid, about three foot long and heavy on one end…" he said with a smile.

"Perfect club," she said as she nodded in agreement.

Boris walked over to a zombie that was starting to get close and slipped around behind it. A flip of his wrist, and the garrote dropped over the undead's neck. The big man snatched the ends outward and jabbed his knee into the creature's back.

The head popped off like it had been cut by a sword.

"Little messy, but it works," Chang said as the sergeant walked back to them.

Making their way down the street, they arrived at the store and started handing out their new weapons.

As they finished up, Lotton came out of the back with one guitar slung across his back and another one hanging in front in playing position. He did a quick spin and struck a chord and a pose.

"Tell me, Shenhua baby," he said with a husky voice. "Do I…look cool? Like the Six-String Samurai?"

Balalaika face palmed herself as Chang cracked up; Shenhua hung her head and sighed.

The tall woman walked over and glared at the man for a moment before leaning into his chest. "Yes idiot, for once you look cool," she told him as he hugged her close.

Chang and Balalaika glanced at each other, slight surprise on their faces. There had been a lot of rumors, but this was the first time anyone had seen Shenhua truly act affectionate towards the white-haired man.

"Come, we go now," the Taiwanese woman said as she took Lotton's hand and led him out. The mafia king and queen noticed a smirk on Lotton's face as he passed them.

"After you," Chang told his queen.

She nodded and walked out, back into the undead world.

000

"Hold up a minute," Dutch said as the Lagoon crew came around the last corner. Down the docks they could see the _Lagoon_ riding quietly at its mooring, waves causing it to move slightly as the ropes tightened and slackened.

Dutch pulled out his cell phone and typed in a text message. A few seconds later a flashlight came on in the open cockpit of the boat and waved back and forth at them.

Jogging forward they noticed several corpses lying around on the docks as they passed. Climbing aboard, they found Eda standing near the pilothouse door, a Remington Model 700 rifle in her hands.

"Damn, am I glad to see all of you," she said. "Revy, do you have a suppresser for this thing?"

The Lagoon gunwoman looked the ex-nun over as she smirked at her. Eda was dressed in black cargo pants with boots and a black tank top. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail and she was not wearing her familiar pink shades.

"Who told ya you could play with my toys, bitch?" Revy asked.

Eda frowned, "Come on, I need something with reach and my Glock wouldn't do!"

The auburn haired woman laughed, "I'm kidding, skank. I know where it's at, bring it to you in a minute."

"Thanks," Eda said before turning to Dutch. "Well, what about it, Dutch? Got room for one more on the crew?"

"Yeah, welcome aboard," he said with a smirk. "Warnin' you now; the pay is going to be shitty."

"Ah…we'll need to talk about some things late…" she started saying, but was interrupted by Benny's phone buzzing.

"It's Janet!" the blond man said as he answered. "Hey baby how's it…what…wait…" He pressed the phone and turned on the speaker.

"_Benny I'm scared!"_ the Indian woman cried. _"They're fighting in the front of the plane and it's bouncing all over!"_

"Janet can you see who's fighting?" he asked, he face worried.

"_No, but there are all these people screaming and…bloody…NO! NO! NO! BENNY __THEY'RE __ON THE PLANE! THE ZOMBIES ARE ON THE PLANE!"_

They listened in horror as she screamed and they could hear the moaning and groaning in the background.

"_GET AWAY! GET AWAY FROM ME! YOU SON-OF-A-BITCHES! BENNY! BENNY HELP…help me…please…help…it…hurts…"_ In the background they could hear the scream of wind; that terrible whining sound an aircraft makes as it's falling from the sky.

There was a booming crash and the phone went dead.

"NO! NO! NO!" Benny cried as he dove in the pilothouse and below decks to his computer room. The others followed and found him frantically typing at the computer, inputting coordinates only finding a marker showing the last location from Janet's phones GPS.

"Benny, let me help," Eda said as she leaned over him.

"No! No get away!" he said as he pushed her from the keyboard.

"Hold him, Dutch," she ordered.

The big man grunted and wrapped his arms around his friend, restraining his arms and pulling him back to let the woman in close to the computer.

Eda began typing and several windows with emblems and government seals flashed by before an overhead shot, like from an aircraft, came into focus. She input the coordinates from before and the picture zoomed inward until they could see a live shot of a fire blazing on a hillside with wreckage from an airliner strewn about.

There was no way anyone had survived that.

She stood up and took a breath before putting her hand on Benny's shoulder, "I'm sorry."

"Who the hell are you?" the hacker asked, stunned at what he had just seen her do. "That's a view from a Keyhole satellite. To get into that you have to be NSA or…CIA…"

She hung her head as the others stared at her. "Can we talk about it later?" she asked. "I just want you to know I'm on your side. I have been for a long time now. I promise to explain everything once we get out of Roanapur and somewhere safe."

She raised her head to look at Revy, "Can I trouble you for that suppressor, Revy? Please? I'll cover everyone from on deck while y'all get everything else ready to go. I can at least do that."

Revy looked at Dutch who nodded, "Tch, yeah come on. Just don't fucking forget which way that barrel is supposed to point."

Eda simply nodded as she followed the gunwoman forward.

Dutch let Benny go and clamped his hands on the other man's shoulders. "Benny, I know you're hurting, but I need you now. Can you hold up?"

"I…I'll do the job, Dutch," he replied, head lowered over the keyboard. "She's not the only one we're going to lose."

"All I can ask, buddy," Dutch said as he motioned for Rock to go out. Once in the passageway, he closed the door to the room and turned to Rock. "Go get him a shot and a beer. Don't let him have the bottle, at least not yet."

"Okay, but what about Eda?" the salaryman asked.

Dutch shrugged his shoulders, "We all got secrets, Rock. I knew before now something was up with her. If's she's a spook, some things will make more sense now. Whatever it is, she's never hurt us as far as we know. I'm willing to live with that for now."

Rock nodded and went to do as ordered. Dutch climbed back up to the pilothouse as Revy stuck her head in the doorway leading to the main deck.

"Hey Dutch, we got people coming up the street. Looks like Big Sis and the boss."

000

Boris and Biu set up a perimeter on the wharf while Balalaika, Chang and the troops carrying gear walked out along the dock where the _Lagoon_ was tied.

Dutch held out his hand for the woman to take as he helped her aboard between the two port torpedo tubes.

She stepped out of the way and sighed as Chang jumped to the deck behind her. "How are you doing, Dutch? Everything ready to go?"

"Fuel tanks are topped off and I have ten barrels on deck for backup," he said. "Food, ammo, tools, pretty much everything we had in the main office and the warehouse has been crammed aboard. I'm leaving some repair parts, big stuff like engine parts, but maybe we can come back for them at a later date."

"What about fresh water?" Chang asked.

"I've got a desalination plant that will produce about five gallons of fresh water an hour. It will make a days' worth in four or five hours for a crew of six. Of course if that breaks down we'll be up a creek. These boats are made to be operated out of bases or with tender ships, not sailing around the ocean for long amounts of time."

Balalaika nodded, "Da, I read up on them after we became acquainted with each other. The freighter has two big water plants so there should be no need for you to have to run yours unless you are out of reach of us. I had 30,000 gallons of fuel in three 10,000 gallon container tanks loaded on its deck for your use, so we do not have to worry about that for a while."

"Hmm, 30,000 is ten fill-ups," Dutch said. "Maybe after that we can steal an oiler or fuel barge."

"We will cross that bridge when it comes." she replied. "Right now I need you to take us over to the freighter. All the roads are blocked and we had to leave our vehicles behind."

"Right," Dutch replied as he touched his earpiece. "Rock, come on deck. You and Revy get ready to cast off."

The Japanese man came out of the pilothouse and headed aft as Revy went towards the bow. He had changed and was now dressed in combat boots, jeans and a white tank top.

Chang whistled and waved at Biu for everyone with to start climbing aboard. He and Balalaika went forward where they found Eda sitting in the forward gun tub, silenced rifle resting across her lap.

"Welcome aboard," she said with a grin.

"Looks like you're settling right in," Chang replied.

"Girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. This girl wants to be away from these undead freaks."

"We're working on that," he told her as the last of the Hotel Moscow and Triad people climbed on deck.

Revy untied the bowlines from the dock and threw them to the boat, then gave the craft a shove. Rock waited a second longer as she ran aft, before he threw the stern lines to the deck. He followed her as she jumped across the widening gap between dock and boat.

"Lines are in and we're aboard, Dutch!" Revy said into her communicator. "You can back away now."

One of the three engines rumbled to life and the old boat slowly eased into the channel. It paused as Dutch reversed gears and then started forward. Only moving fast enough for steerageway, it took about fifteen minutes to cross over to the _Maria Zeleska_. They tied up alongside, with the stern of the PT next to a stair style gangway hanging from the freighters side.

The mafia couple let the men and gear go aboard first before they followed. Arriving on the freighters deck they stopped, stunned.

The deck was packed with people. Men, women and children stood and sat everywhere.

Balalaika turned to look at her lieutenant, Vasiliy, as he stood at attention saluting.

"What…is the meaning of this, Vasiliy?" she hissed, anger glowing in her eyes. "Who the hell are all these people?"

"Dependents Kaptain," he replied as he dropped the salute. "About fifty-fifty our men and Triad people."

"Hey…let me talk to you for a minute," Chang said as he saw the signs of her about to blow her top. "Vasiliy, could you give us a few?"

The man looked at his commander, who nodded, before he stepped away about ten yards.

"What?" she said with a snarl.

He frowned and lit two cigarettes. Holding one out to her he said, "Smoke that and calm down for a minute. Please?"

She looked like she would rather punch him instead, but did as he asked.

"Now," he continued. "I know that in your mind you were thinking of this as a military operation. Soldiers, whether they be gangsters or military, always end up with camp followers and hanger-on's. Question is now that they're here, what are we going to do about them?"

She sighed, "I admit it, you're right. I did not think in terms of civilian personal. Do you have any ideas?"

Chang waved for Vasiliy to come back over. The man hesitated a minute and then came closer. "Lt. Vasiliy, do you know how many civilians are on board?"

The Russian did not respond, but instead looked to his captain.

Balalaika looked puzzled for a moment before it hit her. "Ah, of course you do not know. Vasiliy, Chang and I are co-leaders in this. Military matters will fall to me while he handles civilian and logistics. Act as if his words are mine in these matters. Be sure to tell everyone, we do not need any confusion at this stage."

The man visibly relaxed, "Ah, yes Kaptain! I look forward to working with you, Boss Chang. Last count we had four hundred and fifty non-combatants and two hundred and thirty Hotel Moscow and Triad soldiers."

"Crap, that's a lot more than I thought," Chang said. "How many can the ship and supplies support and for how long?"

"This was an old KGB spy ship," Balalaika said. "It does haul cargo, but has command and control spaces as well as hidden berths for about one hundred troops."

"With the supplies we currently have on board, we can hold out for about five days with this number of mouths to feed," Vasiliy said.

"Damn. This is going to tax the water plants and toilets too," the Triad boss muttered as he looked around the harbor. Suddenly he pointed, "That, can we take that for the civilians? Do we have the men to crew it?"

The object he was pointing at was a double-ended ferry. It was blue and white with an open lower deck for vehicles to drive onto. There was an enclosed upper deck for people as well as a pilothouse on each end. Wide ramps at each end were standing pulled up and it was dark where it sat in its berth.

"Vasiliy, get the ship's captain and call Dutch aboard. I want their input on this," she said.

"Yes Kaptain," he said as he hurried off.

"I wonder if somebody's got some coffee?" Chang said as he leaned on the rail.

000

Two hours later, the ferry was theirs. Revy, leading a group of six mafia soldiers went aboard the ferry after Dutch put the PT boat alongside. After a twenty-minute search finding no one, they let four sailors onboard. Twenty minutes after that, they untied it from the dock and started its engines. They moved it to the side of the Russian freighter and lowered one of the ramps for the gangway to rest on.

After the _Black Lagoon_ tied up outboard of the ferry, Dutch, Rock and Revy stood in the cockpit watching as civilians were moved onboard.

"A fine piece of pirating if I do say so myself," Dutch said.

"Ya know, I think this is the first time we took one and kept it!" Revy said with a laugh.

"Yeah, we've always just robbed them and left them before," Rock said.

Dutch grunted, "Anyway, it's been almost twenty-four hours since we've gotten any shut-eye. I don't know when Balalaika and Chang want to set off, but I want you two to go below and rest for a bit. Eda and Benny are already down, I'm going to take a nap in the control chair."

"Yeah I could use a nap," Revy said as she stretched.

"Sleep…rest…do you understand, Revy?" Dutch said as they went in the pilothouse door and down the below decks hatch.

"Yeah, yeah," the gunslinger said as she led Rock forward to their cabin. "I gotta piss," she told him as she went past their door to the forward toilet.

Back when it was a war boat, the old PT had one big cabin in the bow with bunks built against the hull like cubbyholes for sleeping and storage. The forward toilet, or 'head', was in the point of the bow. When Revy came aboard, Dutch walled off the bunks for some privacy, leaving a small hallway to the forward head.

Rock turned into the portside cabin. He and Benny normally slept in the starboard side one before he and Revy got together, and he could hear someone snoring in there, but didn't know if it was Benny or Eda.

He pulled off his boots and dropped his pants and shirt. Even though it was only April, Roanapur felt like mid-summer compared to Japan. Rock crawled into the lower bunk and put his back against the hull of the ship, lying on his left side.

Revy came in and removed her boots before dropping her shorts and gun rig. She lit two cigarettes before lying down with her back to him and handing him one.

"Hell of a day, huh?" he said as they quietly smoked.

"Yeah," she replied. "I wonder how things are going in the states?"

"Last report I saw, they were just starting to fight like we were,"

"Well whatever happens will happen I guess," she said as they both dropped their butts in a can mounted in the corner of the bunk.

They were quiet for a few minutes before Revy rolled over and snuggled into his chest. He knew this was her 'I want to be held' pose, so he slid his arms around her, pulling her closer.

"I'm glad you're here," she whispered to him. "I wouldn't want to go through this without you."

"I love you, Revy, and I wouldn't be anywhere else," he whispered back to her.

Revy Two-Hands was not one for sweet talk and words of love, but this time she smiled as she drifted off to sleep.

000

Four or five hours later they woke up to someone beating on the cabin wall.

"Revy! Rock! Get up, Dutch says foods ready and he wants to talk to us in the day cabin!"

"Alright," Rock called out as Revy barked, "Fuck off, Eda!"

They both laughed for a second before Rock leaned over and kissed her. They held it for a bit, savoring each other's taste.

Revy smirked as he finally drew away, "You trying to tempt me to stay in the bunk, lover-boy?"

"No," he replied. "Just wanted to remind you I was here."

She smirked and slapped him lightly on the cheek. Before she could say anything else though; her stomach let out a huge growl that echoed through the cabin.

Rock laughed as Revy turned red. She punched him in the gut, again lightly, before rolling out of the bunk and picking up her shorts.

Rock watched with a grin on his face as she stepped into her shorts and bent over to pull them up. She stopped before doing so and looked back at him.

"Why are you always watching my butt when I do this?" she asked, a mischievous grin on her face.

He laughed, "I like your butt; always have, always will. You may not know it, but I've been watching it a long time."

She stood up, pulling her jeans with her, "Oh I knew it, I've never been shy about being naked in front of you. At first it was fun to see you get all flustered and embarrassed, but now I just like the fact that you _want_ to look at me."

He got up and stepped behind her, pulling her back to his chest as he reached around and cupped one of her breasts in his hand. She moaned slightly as he pinched her nipple, making it stand up hard. "I like everything about you," he said huskily in her ear.

"Jesus Rock, what the hell has gotten you so frisky today?" she asked as she took his thumb and twisted it backwards.

"Ow, ow, ow, apples! Apples!" he said as he pulled back from her. "I don't know, maybe the whole zombie apocalypse thing?"

"Tch, so what's different than any other day in Roanapur? Everybody's an enemy unless they're standing beside you. Kill them before they kill you," she said. "Now come on, I smell bacon."

He dressed quickly and followed her to the galley, which was only a step away from their door.

Galley was a generous term for it, since it was basically a set of shelves with a toaster oven, microwave, hotplate, coffee pot and fridge. Someone had cooked eggs, bacon and toast as well as made coffee. Grabbing some plastic plates, they loaded up and went on to the day cabin.

"Glad you two could make it," Dutch said as they entered. He, Eda and Benny were sitting at the drop down table in one corner of the cabin, leaving the side seats for the couple and crates for a table.

"Yeah, yeah, its Rock's fault," Revy said. "He kept trying to get frisky while I was getting dressed."

"I didn't need to know that," Dutch grumbled as Eda and Benny both frowned.

"So what's up? Where do we stand?" the gunslinger asked.

"Balalaika and Chang want to move out just after dusk. We're going to work south slowly and be ready to land at our destination at dawn," he said.

"And I supposed they have decided where that is?" Rock asked.

"Ko Mak Island."

"Huh!?" Revy said as her head came up from where she was shoveling in food. "That fancy resort south of here?"

Dutch nodded, "Yep, the island is mostly privately owned and doesn't have much in the way of security forces, just a small police force and some rent-a-cops. It's got a ferry slip as well as dock for cruise ships, assailable by helicopter, but no airstrip. It also has small boat facilities, which we can use, as well as fuel storage. Fresh water, wood, some farm land and even animals for hunting. Good deal all around and they seem to think we can just walk in and take over. Chang's known there and thinks he can get them to throw in with us."

"It would be to their advantage," Rock said. "I don't think we will be looking at dealing with drugs and such anymore. Food, shelter and survival are going to be the order of the day for quite a while."

"We'll take the bosses and a bunch of soldiers in at first light and then support them until it's decided," the big man said. "What I want to do now is check our weapons, including the belt feds."

"Belt feds?" Eda asked. "What kind?"

"We have a couple of M60's," Dutch replied. "We rarely use them because they're ammo pigs and take a lot of maintenance when we do. I hope we don't need them, but you never know."

"I know how to handle one if you need me too," the blond told him.

"And that brings us to the subject of you," Revy said as she leaned back, crossing her arms under her breasts.

Dutch sighed, "Eda has explained it all to me and I'm fine with it, can we leave it at that?"

"You might be fine with it, boss man, but I want to know just who I'm working with," the gunwoman said back.

"I think we're all curious, Dutch," Rock interjected. "I trust your judgment, but I agree with Revy this time."

Dutch looked at Benny who nodded also. "Okay fine," he said. "Let me introduce you to the CIA station chief for Roanapur, Sister Eda."

Eda wiggled her fingers in greeting, while making sure to keep her hand away from the Glock under her left arm.

"You're fucking shitting me!" Revy said, her mouth falling open in surprise. "Eda is fucking CIA!?"

They all turned to the former salaryman as Rock cracked up with laughter.

"So it was you all along…you're right, Dutch, it does answer some questions we all had. You were the one running things from the shadows."

Eda grimaced, "Not really 'running things', Rock. More like watching and prodding stuff to go certain ways when it needed too."

"So when we met that night on the street, I told you I was waiting for Mister Big to show and settle things, I was talking to him huh…"

"That was a shitty week," the blond told them. "That whole problem came up because the fucking NSA was trying to muscle in on our turf. The Grey Fox team was an NSA covert ops platoon and the only reason the crazy maid got involved was because they had whacked the kid's father. That was a cluster fuck no one saw coming. Thanks to a little help from Balalaika, Chang and our friendly Japanese fixer here, we were able to keep things to a dull roar and get everyone out of town to let it play out. If Grey Fox and gotten wiped out in Roanapur, the NSA would have wanted to 'cleanse' the city. They might not have dropped a nuke on it, but at the very least they would have had the Marines and the Thai Army come in and wreck hell with everybody."

"So us taking them out and up the Mekong was part of the plan?" Dutch asked.

"No, not really," Eda said. "Look, Grey Fox had a way out, but it was held up because of the fighting in the Golden Triangle. Being bogged down here allowed Roberta to catch up with them and start that fight. Rock getting involved on the kid's side gave us a way to maneuver things, with Chang's help, to get them to move along. Balalaika kept the fighting under control even though she really wanted to join in. If Revy and the others had been able to contain Roberta, things might have gone easier. Not blaming you, Revy, there were just too many factors in play. I'm glad you all just got out of it only wounded."

"What about the church?" Rock asked. "Were they CIA also?"

Eda shook her head, "No, the church is an independent group that trades in information. The guns and other stuff was just a ways to a means. When you handle transactions like that, you know a lot about what is going on in a city. Langley paid the church for me to be there so I could sift through what was important and what was not."

"So Revy, what do you think?" Dutch asked.

"Shit I don't know what to fucking think," the auburn haired woman said, lighting a smoke. "I kinda see where she's coming from, but how did we fit into this picture?"

"The Lagoon Company was a controlling factor in Roanapur. You had the ear and respect of all the mafia heads. Think about when you took out Luak and Balalaika took out Mr. Chin. Luak needed to go and Chin was a loose cannon that could not be easily controlled. No one was upset with you and you were justified in doing it because he attacked you first. There have been several things like that."

"Understand something," the blond said as she leaned forward on the table. "I don't work for them anymore. They cut me, and the church, loose to die in this shit. The only people I got to worry about pleasing are the four of you."

"Uh, by the way," Dutch said. "Chang and Balalaika don't need to know about this. Eda thinks Chang may know already, or at least suspect it, but Balalaika might just kill her for grins and giggles."

The others all nodded as Dutch got up, "Now, we got work to do and a long night of cruising to get through. Let's get to it."

000

The sun was setting as the Black Lagoon slipped slowly past the faceless Buddha. Rock, Revy and Eda were sitting on top of the deckhouse smoking as they watched the ferry and freighter follow them out of the harbor.

"I wonder if we're ever going to come back," Eda said.

"Ah sooner or later," replied Revy. "One of these days I'm gonna run out of booze and smokes!"

The other two stared at her for a minute before cracking up with laughter.

000

Far out in the Gulf of Thailand, a gray ship slid silently along the smooth sea.

"_Ping! Ping!_" rang the radar repeater as the tech leaned forward to analyze the contact. "Contact!" he cried out. "Three…no two good sized ships exiting the harbor from Roanapur!"

"You said three at first, why?" the officer of the deck asked as he leaned over the radar plot beside the sailor.

"I think it was a reflection off the Buddha sir. It was only there for a moment and then it merged into the larger contact. I've seen that happen before around the statue."

The officer grunted, the tech knew his job and he trusted him. "I'll ring the Captain," he said. "I got a feeling he is going to want to go hunting tonight!"

A/N: Apples! Apples! Is an inside joke from the show Castle that one of my editors asked me to add. A busy chapter 5 is in progress!

As always please Review, Favorite and Follow!


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own Black Lagoon or its characters.

* * *

_Gulf of Thailand aboard the corvette HTMS Tapi;_

A man with the markings of a Royal Thai Navy lieutenant, stopped in the companionway and knocked on the door that said "CAPTAIN". After waiting for a minute he heard, "Enter!" from the other side. He steeled himself before reaching for the door handle.

_I should not feel this way, he is my Captain and I'm his executive officer!_ he thought. _He's only been with us a month, but I wish we had our old commander back!_

The Tapi had been a happy ship under their old Captain. The men had loved him and been happy to work for him. He had been so good though, the Grand Admiral had placed him in command of the HTMS Taksin; a guided missile frigate. He promised to bring as many as he could with him, but it would take several more months before that could happen. Of course with what was now going on in the world that would never happen.

The new man, the Right Honorable Gan Kalhan Arthit, was an arrogant, prideful aristocrat that owed his rank more to connections then skill. The son of a cabinet minister, the Lieutenant Commander let everyone know they were just stepping stones in his climb to admiral's rank.

The XO entered the cabin to find the captain sitting in a peacock fan rattan chair that he bet cost more than two months of his pay. The prissy looking commander was sipping tea with his legs crossed like he was posing for a picture.

"What is it, Number One?" the man asked.

"Radar has detected two good sized vessels coming out of the harbor at Roanapur. One is the size of an inter-island ferry, but the other is freighter sized. They are moving at ten knots and holding station with each other."

The captain's face lit up like a cat who had just chomped a prize canary. "Really!?" he said. "I will bet good Baht that is the mafia dogs I am looking for. What is the range?"

"Fifty-two nautical miles, sir. At thirteen knots we can intercept in four hours." The XO replied.

"Push it to sixteen knots, that should cut an hour off our intercept time. Let me know when we are an hour out, I want to go to General Quarters and combat stations then."

The XO did some quick calculations in his head, before nodding, "Yes sir, will there be anything else, sir?"

"No; you are dismissed," his captain told him.

Exiting the room, he stopped in the hall for a moment, taking another deep breath before heading to the bridge.

000

The _Black Lagoon_ eased along at one-quarter speed beside the _Maria Zeleska_. Dutch didn't mind, in fact he using the time to show Eda how the controls worked just in case.

"You're doing good, you've driven boats before?" he asked.

"We were trained on several types of water craft," she replied. "These controls are closer to a race boat or a Seal surf boat than an old PT."

He nodded, "That's what I based it on. One person can control her this way, though it's safer with three or four."

"Hey Dutch," Benny called up through the hatch from the cabin below them. "I've got something on radar about thirty-five nautical out, moving at sixteen knots and heading right for us. Might be a patrol boat."

"Can you tell how big it is?" he asked.

"Frigate or corvette sized. It's at the edge of our range; I'll know more when it gets closer."

"Right, I'll talk to Balalaika about it and see if the freighter can get a better picture,' he told the hacker. "Just hold it steady and this distance from the ship," he said to Eda, who nodded in reply.

Picking up the hand set he keyed the mike, "Black Lagoon to Maria Zeleska, how do you read me, over."

"_Maria Zeleska to Black Lagoon, we read you five by five. Hold for the __Kapitan__,__ over."_ A second later Balalaika came on the radio, _"I was just about to call you__,__ Dutch__.__ I assume Benny has seen the contact coming towards us from the southwest? Over."_

"Yeah, he thinks it's a frigate or a corvette, but will not know until we get closer, over."

"_Plot here can confirm now it is a corvette, maybe even our old friend the Tapi, over."_

"That ship that watched over us during the beach party a couple of years ago? You're on good terms with their commander aren't you? Over."

"_I was, but he was transferred a month or so ago. The new captain is said to be a real prick that wants to do big things and gain glory so he can rise the ranks faster. We might have trouble out of him, over."_

Dutch shook his head, "Damn that's just what we don't need. Okay we need to get some things ready then, just in case. I'll call you back in a bit, over."

"_I understand, over and out."_

"_Black Lagoon_, over and out. Benny, I need all the info you can get on the HTMS Tapi. Speed, armament and crew complement as soon as you can come up with it," he called down below decks.

"Roger Dutch, gimme me ten and we'll talk," the blond man replied.

"What do you want me to do?" Eda asked.

"Just hold course, speed and distance from the freighter for now. I want to do a couple of things and then I'll take over when we brief."

She nodded as he climbed down below decks.

000

An hour later they were all in the bridge with Dutch in the control chair.

"HTMS Tapi," Benny said reading a printout. "1-76mm main gun, 1-40mm, 2-20mm's, 2-12.7mm machine guns and 2 triple mount Mark 32 Anti-submarine torpedo tubes with Mark 46 torpedoes."

"Anti-sub torpedoes!? Can they hurt us?" Revy asked.

"Since we're a wooden hulled boat, yes," Dutch replied. "Anti-sub torps are designed to damage a pressure hull and make a sub come to the surface, so they're lighter than the ones we carry. They would be able to damage the freighter, but it might take five or six to sink it. That main gun is more what I'm worried about."

"That thing can fire 85 rounds a minute according to this," Benny said. "It doesn't say what the ship's ammo capacity is."

Suddenly the radio pinged and spoke, _"Dutch, do you read me, over."_

"Roger, what's the word, over," he replied after picking up the mic.

"_We are being hailed and it is the Tapi. I'm going to keep the connection open so you can hear, over."_

"We're all ears, over."

"_Unidentified ship, this is the HTMS Tapi, do you read us over? Repeat, unidentified ship, this is the HTMS Tapi, do you read us over?"_

The Lagoon crew listened closely as the captain of the freighter responded. _"HTMS Tapi, this is civilian freighter Maria Zeleska, we read you five by five over."_

The voice from the Tapi changed to a different lilting, arrogant tone, _"Ah, good. And just what are you doing sailing around my gulf tonight__,__ Russian?"_

Dutch frowned as Eda's right eyebrow went up.

"_Tapi, we are carrying evacuees from Roanapur. We and our companion ship, a ferry, are filled with families and supplies, over"_

"_I see, I see, and just who else do you have aboard? Maybe a certain blond Russian woman?"_

After a moment of quiet the radio spoke again, _"This is Balalaika, do I know you? Over."_

"_Ah the Mafia Queen herself! No we have never had the displeasure to meet, I am the Honorable Gan Kalhan Arthit, captain of His Majesty's corvette Tapi. You and your kind have been a curse on our country long enough, I intend to fix that tonight."_

"_These are refugee ships filled with women and children. Do you mean to murder all of them in some self-righteous Crusade? Over."_

"_Women and children…mafia whores and their bastards I would guess. I intend on cleaning out a nest of vipers all on one blow. We will be seeing you shortly__,__ Russian bitch. I am eager to see you burn."_

With that the connection broke with a ping. A few seconds later Balalaika came back on.

"_Did you get all that__,__ Dutch? Over."_

"Yeah, sounds like somebody's got a corncob up his ass, over"

"_All we have are some RPG's and a few heavy machine guns. Can you take down the Tapi? Over."_

"I noticed he only talked about the two bigger ships. He may not know we're here because we're in the radar shadow of the _Zeleska_. If we can keep the element of surprise we might be able to take him out with a Sunday punch. I get the feeling he's going to get close and use his deck guns because of the burn remark, over."

"_I agree, you're the naval commander, how do you want to play this, over."_

"Let's do it this way…"

000

Forty-five minutes later they were as ready as they were ever going to be. The Tapi was already in gun range at just under a nautical mile, but was holding fire and working closer.

In the hour it had taken for the Tapi to close with them, the ferry had moved from the port side of the _Maria Zeleska_, to the starboard. This put the PT boat in between the two ships and, Dutch hoped, masked them from the corvette even more.

At the same time the freighter had slowly been turning or bearing to starboard. This kept her port side to the corvette and protected the ferry.

"_Time to open the tubes, Rock,"_ Dutch called over the head sets.

"Roger Dutch," the Japanese man replied back. He went to the head end of the port torpedo tube and unlatched the round end cover. When he had first come aboard the _Lagoon_, he thought those covers were the torpedoes themselves. He found out when they shot down the Extra Order Company's Hind, the weapons were inside and the covers kept salt water and grime out. Going to the starboard tube, he did the same and carried the caps to be stored in the cockpit.

"Tubes uncovered and ready to run out, Dutch," he called back over the headset.

"_Running out the tubes,"_ the captain replied. There was the whir of electric motors and the front end of both tubes moved outward about five to eight degrees. This allowed the torpedoes to clear the edge of the deck when they left the launchers. Back during the days of WW II, this had to be done by hand crank.

Revy came out of the pilot house door as Eda popped up in the forward gun tub, holding an M-60 machine gun. The auburn haired gunslinger picked up her RPG-7 and handed it to Rock.

"Be ready to hand it to me, I'm going to light them up with the Gepard first and then try to damage the deck gun with this. As soon as I fire it, take it back and reload while Eda and I rake their deck."

"Roger," Rock said, glancing at the French .50 caliber rifle Revy had used several times before.

"Ready Eda?" Revy called out to which the blond responded with a thumb up. "All set, Dutch, let's rock and roll!"

"_Just as soon as Balalaika says go, we'll…"_ his words were drowned out with the boom of cannon fire and the scream of a 76mm shell passing over the three ships to splash in the dark sea to starboard.

No more words. The bow of the _Black Lagoon_ rose up as Dutch slammed the throttles forward, causing the sound of the three V-12 engines to go from a rumble to a thundering roar. The boat leapt from ten to twenty knots and gained more speed every second.

Dutch ran out in front of the other two ships about two hundred yards before cutting left to line up his torpedo shot. This was the tricky part. You don't shoot a torpedo directly at a ship; you have to shoot at a spot in the ocean where the ship will be when the weapon gets there.

"_800 YARDS, FIRING ONE! TORPEDO AWAY!"_ the man shouted over the radio as there was a _WHOOSH_ of compressed air and the long grey monster shot into view.

Rock watched, eyes wide, as he could see the propellers on the weapon spinning before it hit the water and raced away in the dim moonlight, leaving a white wake.

The PT boat cut back to the right, running parallel to the corvette, six hundred yards out, but in the opposite direction.

"_Light'em up__,__ ladies!"_ Dutch called out. A second later the M-60 began to chatter as Revy leaned into the Gepard and fired three shots before reaching for the RPG in Rock's hands.

000

_Onboard the HTMS Tapi:_

"First shot is over, lower the angle ten degrees and fire again," the captain said into the intercom to fire control.

"CEASE FIRE!" screamed the XO. "Captain please don't do this! There are women and children aboard those ships!"

The captain's happy face turned into a snarl as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pistol, "Traitor! You're working for them aren't you!?" With that he pointed the gun straight into the XO chest and pulled the trigger. The report echoed through the bridge and everyone watched stunned, as the man fell backward to the deck, gasping once as he grabbed at his chest and died.

Turning the pistol towards the second officer, the captain said, "Will there be any more complaints over my orders!?"

The man shook his head and raised his hands, "N…no captain! We will obey, sir!"

"Good, now…" the captain started to speak again before the radar tech screamed through the intercom.

"New contact! There was a third boat hiding in the shadow of the freighter. It's a torpedo boat! They're turning towards us…TORPEDO IN THE WATER!"

"Wh…What…" the captain stuttered for a second before regaining his composure. "Target all guns on that thing and blow it up! Engineering, I want flank sp…"

He was cut off as he fell backwards, dodging as the bridge windows shattered inward from the force of three .50 cal. rounds passing through. Two other sailors screamed as the flying shards shredded their faces.

As he got back up and looked out the windows, he saw the grey trail of a rocket as it impacted on the base of the gun in the forward turret. The explosion blinded him for a second, and he covered his eyes with his arm.

Alarms began to ring and a collision siren whooped as the white wake bore towards them.

000

After firing the three shots, Revy grabbed the RPG from Rock and took aim on the ship. Taking a deep breath she pulled the trigger, handing the launch tube back to him as they watched the rocket clear the side of the boat, open its fins and light off, racing away.

"HELL YEAH!" Revy cried as the grey smoke trail from the projectile impacted with a bright flash at the base of the gun. If it didn't damage it, she at least hoped it knocked the sights out of alignment a little bit.

Picking up the Gepard again, she snapped off more shots at the other gun emplacements aboard the Tapi.

"Ready!" Rock said as he held the reloaded RPG back out to her.

She had not gotten it to her shoulder before there was a deep sounding thump and water shot up around the corvette, amidships, right around the funnel.

They held their fire and watched as the middle of the ship lifted, bending in a way it should not, before healing over and starting to go down.

000

The Honorable Captain Gan Kalhan Arthit hung on to his chair and stared in shock. His ship, still moving at sixteen knots, screamed and groaned in pain as she shed hull plates and the cold waters of the Gulf of Thailand rushed inside.

Bridge crewmen screamed and cried, trying to get out of the doors, before secondary explosions ripped through the ship, speeding its death.

Seven minutes after impact, the Tapi was under and only smoking debris and dead bodies littered the sea.

000

Rock threw his arms around Revy and kissed her as she danced screaming in victory. Eda fell back in the gun tub, letting the M-60 dangle by its bipod.

She climbed out onto the top of the pilot house and shouted as she danced.

"Un-huh! Un-Huh! That's the way you do it! Money for nothin' and chicks for free!"

Laughing, Revy joined her and they danced and sang as the _Black Lagoon_ slowed down and turned back toward the other two ships.

The radio pinged as Dutch watched the girls move to the foredeck to continue their celebrating. _"Dutch,"_ Balalaika said. _"Is everything alright? Over."_

He laughed deeply as he keyed the mic, "Ooooh yeah." He laughed again as Eda and Revy grabbed Rock to dance with them, "We're all good and I got dancing girls on my foredeck, over."

It was quiet for a second before Balalaika laughed, _"It seems spontaneous celebrations have broken out here also. Good job Dutchy, Chang says so too. Without you we would all have been dead. Now, let's get back on course, the next phase comes in the morning, over and out."_

"Black Lagoon, over and out," he said as he put the mic down. He sat quiet for a minute before speaking up, "You okay down there, Benny-boy?"

"Yeah I'm fine, Dutch. It's just…it's only been a few hours you know?"

"I know, buddy, and I'm sorry I can't let you cut loose and unwind right now. Soon though, I promise."

"I understand, Dutch," the man replied. "I'll be alright. I'll do my job."

"I know you will, Benny-boy. I know."

He reached up and keyed his headset, "I'm glad everyone is happy, but right now we need to get some things squared away. Rock, get the covers back on the tubes, I'm bringing them in now."

"_Roger Dutch,"_ the young man said as the motors whined again and put the torpedo tubes back in their travel position.

"Revy, check weapons and give me an ammo report. Then we will decide what to do next."

"_Right boss!"_ the gunslinger replied as she ran towards the stern.

This left Eda standing and watching him through the pilot house windows. Suddenly she pulled up her shirt and shook her bare breasts at him, a big grin on her face.

Sweat ran down Dutch's temple as he shook his head and then laughed. "What the hell am I going to do with that one?" he wondered as she lowered her shirt and ran aft.

000

A couple of hours later Eda came in from the deck where she had been sitting with Rock and Revy. They had cleaned up the brass, chain links and guns after the fight, while talking about what they might have done different.

She sat down on the floor beside Dutch, her back against the bulkhead where she could see him.

"How you doing? Want me to spell you for a bit?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he replied as he fiddled with some switches on the control panel. "I'm trying to trim the ship by moving fuel to the port tank. We lost twenty-six hundred pounds of weight on that side and baby's wanting to list."

"Yeah that's right," she said, thinking about what he was saying. "You've still got a torp in the right forward tube so the boat is unbalanced."

"If we were to get hit with a rogue wave on the port bow, we might be doing a barrel roll before going down."

"Ugg, I don't even want to think about that!" she said as she shuddered.

"Question is how are you doing? You and Revy getting along okay?" he asked.

She smiled, "I'll give it some time before I mess with her again. It was always just a game anyway. Picking on Rock would always set her off."

"Took her a long time to ever admit she felt something for him," Dutch said.

"Yeah but it calmed her down a lot once she did. She can still be volatile, but Rock knows how to handle her," she sighed and looked at him closely. "The question now is what does this do between us?"

He raised one eyebrow as he lit another cigarette, "What do you mean?"

"We got along pretty good you and I," she said. They had been having little rendezvous' off and on for the last couple of years. It started after a Christmas party and every few months when Eda felt the need for some companionship, she would show up at Dutch's door. Revy found out about it one morning, but Eda didn't think she had ever told anybody, not even Rock. "Now that you know the real story, does that change things?"

"Don't see why it should. Like you said, you never worked against us and might have even helped us several times. Plus what does that matter, the world changed yesterday. I always knew something was up with you, but just never figured that."

"I'm glad," she said as she got up and kissed him on top of the head while he chuckled. "Now if we could get some down time I sure could use a good toss in the bunk!"

They were both laughing as Revy came in the door, Rock behind her.

"Hey Dutch, what's the next part of this going to be?" the gun woman asked as she leaned on the back of the command chair.

We'll heave to in a bit and take Balalaika, Chang and some muscle aboard. Then while the bigger ships hang out off shore, we'll go in and let Chang 'negotiate' with the people on the island. What happens next depends on them. Why?"

"I was thinking about putting both belt-feds in the gun tubs. Keeping the RPG and Gepard nearby and we would be looking pretty tough when we come in sight. Might make them think twice before telling the boss man, no."

"I think he's hoping we don't have any problems like that, but you might be right. We'll ask them when they come aboard."

"By the way," Eda asked. "What did happen to the .50 cal. mounts? There was also a 20mm on the stern deck right?"

Dutch nodded, "The 20 was gone when I got it, but the .50's were still there. Guns were worn out, so I took the mounts off and they're in storage back in Roanapur. Plus this helped keep the Thai authorities off my back. They could buy the 'historical condition' of the boat with the launch tubes, but running around with machine guns hanging off of her was pushing it a bit. Like I said about the M60's, the .50's were ammo hogs and cost too much to feed."

The radio pinged and Balalaika said, _"Dutch? We're ready to come aboard, over"_

Eda pick up the mic and replied, "We'll be alongside in a couple of minutes Ms. Balalaika, over."

"_Balalaika, over and out._"

"Black Lagoon, out. That's our cue, boss."

"Yep, get ready to receive them and we'll get this job done," he said as he started to maneuver towards the freighter.

000

The ships had come to a relative stop, the calm sea aiding in the transfer of personal from the freighter to the PT boat.

Balalaika and Chang came into the pilot house as a dozen Hotel Moscow and Triad fighters, along with Shenhua and Lotton, waited on the deck.

"What's the plan?" Dutch asked as the bosses stood behind his chair.

"I'm going to try to give the owner a call on the satellite phone," Chang said. "See what he knows and how he acts before we go charging in. If I read him right I'm betting he will welcome us with open arms in hopes we will keep his little slice of paradise safe."

"That would be nice," Dutch said as the man dialed the sat phone.

"Siriporn…" Chang said as someone answered the phone. "Ah, I see, is he around? I need to speak with him." The man frowned and hit the mute button. "Something's wrong. I don't know who answered but it doesn't sound like any of his family. I'll put it on speaker." Changing the settings on the phone they listened as someone else came on the line, _"EH, who is this? I'm busy with guest, what do you want?"_

Chang's eyebrows went up, "Master Siriporn, this is Ge Hua. I was thinking of coming for an extended vacation."

"_Oh! Oh, Ge Hua! No, no, no, now is not golden time. All full up with guests, very busy, you come another time, you go try Ko Samui. They take care of you, bye, bye."_ With that the connection broke.

Chang shut the phone off, his face now grim, "The name I used was code, he knew it was me. Basically he let me know he was not in control by telling me to go to Ko Samui, that's all the way across the gulf. By saying 'golden time', he told me it was someone from Cambodia, I'm betting some warlord."

"Now what?" Balalaika asked. "Do we go in and take the island or go somewhere else?"

"We need intel, suggestions, Dutch?" Change said.

The big man thought for a moment before touching his headset, "Benny, did you ever get your toy working?"

The hatch at the rear of the room opened and the blond hacker stuck his head up. "You mean my eye-in-the-sky?"

"Yeah," Dutch replied.

"Somewhat, control is only about five miles, video is only good out to three."

"What are you speaking of, Benny?" Balalaika asked.

"A drone, Ms. Balalaika," he said. "Not a real drone, just a battery powered R/C airplane with a wireless camera hung on it. It can fly and send video for about two hours before I have to recharge or ditch it."

"So here's what we do," Dutch told them. "Ease in on the west side of the island near the harbor, where we are not silhouetted by the rising sun. Send Benny's toy up and see what we can see, then decide on our next move."

The two bosses looked and each other and nodded. "Let's do it," said Chang.

000

Forty-five minutes later they were ready to launch. Rock and Benny were standing on the foredeck with a small aircraft made of rigid foam. It was painted sky blue and gray, had two small cameras sticking out of the bottom and sported a set of wheels.

"Engine test," Benny said as Rock held the toy plane up. The electric motor buzzed and the propeller spun for a few seconds. "Alright Dutch, we're ready."

"_Go ahead,"_ they heard over their headsets.

"Toss her when the motor gets to full speed, Rock."

The plane buzzed again and the Japanese man slung the craft forward like a baseball. It flew out over the water, dipped for a second, and then began to climb as Benny poured on the power.

Dutch came on deck and walked up behind them. After watching the plane for a minute, he and Rock looked over Benny's shoulder at the laptop computer screen.

"Picture is nice and clear," Rock said as they could see trees racing by.

"Yeah signal is real good," Benny said.

About ten minutes of flight time and the small boat harbor came into view.

"Oh…that's not good," Dutch said. On the screen they could see what looked to be a luxury yacht and several military style patrol boats. "I can see four PBR's and two Swift boats, all fully armed."

"What are swift boats?" Rock asked.

"Aluminum hulled fast patrol boats from the US navy. Bunch of them was running around here during Vietnam. They carry twin .50's up top and a single .50 with an 81mm mortar on the back deck. They can only make about half our speed though."

"The others look like the one's Luak had," Rock said.

"PBR's or Patrol Boat, River. Twin .50's up front and no telling what they got mounted on the rear deck. Almost as fast as the _Lagoon_ is, but as Revy proved, can't take a lot of punishment. In a pack though, they can be dangerous and hurt us. Luak was a dumbass and didn't know how to use them."

The picture changed as Benny flew the little plane over the buildings of the resort. They could see men dressed in jungle fatigues standing in formation as a man knelt down before them. His shirt was off and his hands were tied behind his back, as he was whipped with a cane. Another man, with a black beret and shoulder boards on his shirt, stood nearby watching and giving orders.

"Can you zoom in on him, Benny? I bet that's their boss." Dutch said.

"No, I would have to get closer and they might hear the plane then," he replied.

"No need," Eda said from behind them. "I'm pretty sure that's General Khem Phet, mercenary and warlord out of the Golden Triangle. He's known to be a sadistic son-of-a-bitch. If that's him, the people on the island are in for a world of hurt. I can tell by the hardware, that's his whole fleet."

"How many men is he known to have?" Dutch asked.

"Varies," the blond woman said. "Looking at what's there, I'm betting a mid-sized company, say a hundred and twenty troops."

"That's what I was afraid of," the man said. "Okay Benny, bring it home and I'll go talk to Balalaika and Chang."

000

Recovery of the little plane had been easy. Dutch ran the PT boat at a slow speed and Benny flew it up to the stern, where Rock simply reached up and plucked it out of the sky. After stowing it away, Benny took over piloting the _Lagoon_ while Rock and Dutch joined the others, who were talking in the day cabin.

"So, that is how we will handle this. Everyone be ready to execute the plan two hours after dusk," Balalaika was saying as the ex-salaryman sat down beside Revy.

"Everything decided already?" he asked her quietly as she yawned.

"Yeah," she said. "Do a sneak, take a peak, start a distraction and then hit them with troops. Probably gonna be another long night."

"I'm already so tired I can barely hold my eyes open," Rock said.

"Yeah me too," the gunslinger said. "Hey Big Sis, I think we all need a good rest before tonight."

Balalaika nodded, "We will go back aboard the _Maria Zeleska_ and get ready before taking a rest ourselves."

Dutch pointed to an island on the map lying before them, "Let's move to the west behind Ko Rang Island. There are sheltered waters in this cluster of smaller islands where we can anchor for the day. About three hours before strike time we can sail around the southern end and come at them from the south side."

"Agreed," Chang said. "Let's get started then."

Going back to the controls, Dutch piloted the _Black Lagoon_ to the anchorage with the larger ships following. Once they had dropped anchors and settled, he put the PT boat alongside the freighter and shut everything down.

Revy and Eda had been preparing their weapons and were just finishing when a wonderful smell drifted from the direction of the galley.

"What is that cooking?" Eda asked as Revy laughed.

"Oh man! My stomach's gonna be happy tonight!" Revy said. "Rock's fixing his 'special' dish!"

She got up and went through the day cabin door to where the Japanese man was tossing a rice mixture in a wok on the cooking eye.

"Rock, be sure to put that extra hot sauce on mine!" Revy told him as she hugged him from behind.

"I already did Revy, your bowl is the first one on the right," He nodded toward the shelf where five bowls stood with steam coming out of them.

"I didn't know you cooked, Rock," Eda said as Revy grabbed hers and Dutch and Benny appeared behind them.

"He is a man of many talents," Dutch said as he reached for the bowls Revy were holding out for him and Benny. "Happily his dish is one of them."

"What's it called," the blond woman asked as she looked at the bowl full of fried rice, veggies and chunks of some meat.

"Fried rice a la Spam!" Revy said as she began to shove spoonfuls of the mixture in his mouth.

Eda made a face, "SPAM!? And you're happy to eat this stuff!?"

"Don't knock it till you tried it, Eda," Benny said as he followed Revy example of shoving the food in.

She grimaced again before putting the first spoonful in her mouth. Chewing for a minute, her eyes grew wide and she followed the others actions and began to shove the food down. "Oh my god! What the hell did you do to this!?"

"Old Asian secret," Rock said, trying to sound like an old man as he started on his own lunch.

A few minutes later the meal was done and the crew was finishing off their beers when Revy belched and said, "Now I'm good, comon' Rocky boy, I'm ready for some rest."

"Keep it down to a dull roar, Rebecca," Dutch as she had Rock headed to their cabin.

"Yeah, yeah."

In the cabin she quickly stripped down to her tank top and panties before crawling into the bunk. Putting her back to the hull, she watched as Rock took his time removing his clothes.

"Comon' Rock, what's taking you so long?" she asked with a grin.

"Something wrong, Revy?" he asked a smirk on his face.

She reached out and snagged him by the front of his boxers, dragging him into the bunk with her.

"It's been days Rock," she said as she straddled him and pinned his hands over his head. "We're doing hot work tonight and I need to be relaxed, so do your magic and relax me…butthead…"

* * *

A/N: Another chapter coming up soon! As always, Please Review, Favorite and Follow!

Oh, btw, I changed the title slightly since the Japanese group has faded into the background. They will make another appearance before this is over.


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own Black Lagoon or its characters.

* * *

_Ferry dock, Ko Mak Island, two hours after dusk:_

"I don't know why we have to be standing out here guarding this dock when everyone else is having fun with the girls," said a man in jungle fatigues, standing beside an overhead light at the end of the ferry dock.

"Shut up," said a second man dressed the same way, standing nearby. "You want to end up like that idiot today?"

"Heng deserved what he got," the first replied. "He was stupid getting into the drugs after we were told to stay away. I'm glad I never got into that shit, give me a bottle of palm wine or 'Golden Muscle'* any day."

"Gaa, I don't know how you drink that shit. Give me American whisky every time," the second said as he made a face. "Wait…what's that sound…singing?"

The pair looked down the beach where they both could now hear female voices trying to sing some song. A minute later, two women, one a tall, busty Caucasian blond and the other a slim Chinese beauty with long dark hair, walked, or rather staggered out of the dark. Both had on very skimpy bikinis and each had a bottle of whisky in their hand.

"Ha…halt where you are!" the second man called out.

"Oooo, look Shen, there's some cuties to play with!" the blond said. She jogged forward, large breasts bouncing wildly, and slid to a stop before the two now stunned men.

"Hi guys! 'hic' Our boat…ran outta gas…can you help us?" she said as she leaned close to them, a grin on her face and whiskey on her breath.

The dark haired woman walked up and slapped the blond in the back of the head, "Shut-up, stupid bitch! You drunk, no can talk good!" She turned to the men, "We take boyfriend boat when crazy people come after us on mainland. Try to get to Samui but stupid bitch no can read gas gauge. We lucky boat drift to shore down beach." She reached out and slid her hand along the first man's jawline and smiled, "You help us and you get lucky too, hokay!?"

The first man grinned as the second looked stunned at the turn of events. The stunned looks turned to shock though, as one of Shenhua's kukri knives suddenly slid into the first man's chest. At the same time Eda grabbed the second and shoved a Ka-Bar fighting knife into the side of his throat, severing his vocal cords, windpipe and jugular as she pulled it forward.

Letting the bodies drop to the ground they both cleaned their weapons on the dead men's clothes.

"Did you have to hit me so hard?" Eda complained.

"So sorry, excitement of moment," Shenhua said with a smirk.

"And by the way, just where did you have that kukri?"

"Ancient Taiwanese secret! I tell you I have to kill you!"

"If you two are through," Revy said as she walked up with half a dozen Russians behind her. "Your clothes are in here." She tossed down a duffle bag that Eda pulled cargo pants from and started to put on. Revy herself was dressed in dark cargos and a TAC vest.

Shots suddenly rang out and two of the Russians went down. "COVER!" Revy cried out as she raced onto the dock itself and dove behind some crates with Eda and Shenhua right behind her.

"Shit, bastards could have given me time to get some fucking clothes on!" Eda bitched as she tossed Shenhua a pair of pants like hers.

"They never give girl enough time to look good," the Chinese assassin quipped.

"Dutch!" Revy called into the mic on her headset. "We got a dozen or so shooters in the tree line by the ferry dock! We need covering fire and support!"

"_On our way__,__ Revy, look out for danger close,"_ Rock replied in her ear.

"Everybody eat dirt!" the Lagoon gunwoman called out.

The thunder of her engines rumbled out of the darkness as the _Black Lagoon_ came into sight from the lights along the dock. It cruised by from east to west. When it came abreast, all hell broke loose.

A wall of flame seemed to appear as a dozen guns of various calibers spit lead and hammered out a rapid beat. Russian PKM's, M-60's and AK-74's stuttered, as the boat slid by.

_HOLY SHIT!_ Revy thought as she watched in awe. _I wonder if that's what she looked like back during the war with all the .50's on her! That's scary as hell!_

The ordinance shredded the tree line. Screams of wounded and dying men rang out as the _Lagoon_ moved back out of range to circle around in case needed again.

Revy ducked out to check the damage, when down the beach at the small boat docks she heard engines fire off. Looking that way she saw two of the small patrol boats racing out to sea.

"Watch out, Rock, two of the PBR's just tore out of here heading your way!" she called into the radio.

"_Roger, we're ready for them,"_ he replied.

She glanced to see if Eda and Shenhua were finished dressing before calling out to the Russians, "Let's go, boys! They know we're here!"

000

Rock stood in the open cockpit of the PT boat and looked at their wake with night vision goggles. He could see the patrol boats accelerating after them as they chased the _Lagoon_. "Here they come, 300 yards and closing," he said.

"We have them," Balalaika replied. The woman was looking aft with a pair of binoculars herself. She, as well as her men, were dressed in their combat uniforms. "You may fire when ready, sergeant. Turn away or close your eyes, Rock," she said.

Rock understood. He knew if he watched with his night vision, the RPG's the Russians were using would blind him for several minutes.

_WHOOOSH! WHOOSH!_ The sounds of the rockets launching echoed across the water for a moment before they detonated on the enemy boats. The first craft exploded in a ball of fire as the second continued to bear down on the PT. Moving only slightly faster; the small boat bumped against the side of the larger, but did no damage.

Suddenly Boris leapt from the deck of the _Lagoon_, into the back of the attack boat. Throwing the body of the helmsman overboard he took control of the boat and brought in back alongside the PT.

"Good work, sergeant," Balalaika said into her headset. "Five more men get aboard and go take control of the small boat harbor."

Rock watched as the Russians responded with actions rather than words. In less than a minute they had jumped onto the boat, thrown the former occupants overboard, regardless of being dead or alive. With Boris at the helm, the PBR turned away, heading on its new mission.

"That was nicely done," Chang said as he stood next to the blond Russian woman. She nodded, a slight smile of satisfaction on her lips, before she issued her next orders.

"Send in the ferry."

000

Revy and the others set a perimeter as the blue and white ship eased up to the dock. It touched only long enough to drop the ramp and allow about a hundred Triad and Russian fighters to run off. The wounded men were put aboard and as soon as they were clear, it backed away.

Lt. Vasiliy and his Triad counterpart jogged over to Revy. "Hunter killer teams are ready to go, Two-Hands," Vasiliy said.

"Backup teams also ready," the Chinese man said.

Everyone knew this type of action was not the Triad's forte. The Russian hunter teams would lead with the Triad teams providing them with backup and rear security. This also kept orders and signals from being confused between men that spoke different languages.

"Cool, let's do this," Revy said as she checked her loads and raised both cutlasses' shoulder high. She, Eda and Shenhua would concentrate on finding Master Siriporn and his family to protect them.

"Link up with Boris," she told the rest of the men that had come ashore with her in rubber boats. "No need to worry about the ferry dock now and once the small boat harbor is secure; Big Sis will come ashore there."

"Da," one of the corporals said as they jogged off.

The rest split up into teams of twenty, ten Russians, ten Triad, and faded into the trees.

Revy looked around once more before leading Eda and Shenhua off towards the main resort buildings.

000

Thirty minutes later the _Black Lagoon_ eased up beside the small boat docks. Rock tied off the bow as a Russian did the same in the stern. The Japanese man came back amidships and held out his hand for Balalaika to take as she stepped across.

"Thank you, Rock," she said as the rest of her men climbed off the boat. "I'm leaving ten men here to guard you and the dock. They will also inspect the other boats for hostile fighters that may be hiding."

"Yes Kapitan," he said with a smirk on his face.

Chang chuckled as the woman's eyebrows went up in surprise. "Looks like Rebecca's rubbing off on him," the man said.

"Hmm," Balalaika responded as she lightly slapped Rock on the cheek. "I'm not sure that is a good thing. Don't get to cheeky, Rock."

"Yes ma'am,' he replied as Chang winked at him. Rock knew that even though it had been a slight risk picking on the woman, he had lightened her dark mood slightly even though she was concentrating on the operation.

"Forward," she said as she slung her Dragunov over her shoulder. Chang reached behind him and checked to make sure his pistols were loose in their holsters as he stepped off behind her. The rest of the men fanned out ahead of them as the group left with Rock started their work.

000

All across the resort there was the intermediate sound of weapons fire as different teams ran into pockets of resistance. As they got closer to the main buildings, Balalaika's team stopped and knelt down in the cover of some bushes.

"All teams report in," she said over the radio as Chang put his back to hers, watching behind them.

"_Team one. Teams one and two have surrounded a residential block with a large group of enemy combatants inside. We are not assaulting and they are not firing on us. We think there are a group of women and maybe children inside with them, over."_

"_Team three has secured the motor pool and garage area. There were six resort workers and two enemy guards, but all surrendered with no resistance, over."_

"_Team four has secured another residential block. Eliminated two guards that resisted and the rest seem to be resort guests that were prisoners. We have them in a central location and under guard, over"_

"_Team five has a large group pinned down in a warehouse area. They are putting up heavy resistance and we are only keeping them pinned down, over."_

After a second of quiet, Balalaika spoke, "Two-Hands, do you hear me? Over."

There were two clicks in response.

"Understood, in a position where you cannot respond. Report when you can, over."

_Click, click._

"This seems to be going a little better than we expected," Chang said as he leaned against her back with his, feeling her warmth.

"This is when I worry when the other boot will drop," she replied. He was…distracting doing that, but she was enjoying the feeling. "I think they are protecting supplies and maybe wealth in the warehouse. The general may be there, but I'm not sure since Two-Hands cannot respond."

"Agreed," the man said. "So what do you want to do?"

"Let's go to Team One first. If we can get the group they are containing to surrender, it will free up personal to support the others."

"Right, let's go then." He gave up his comfortable spot to stand as she did the same.

"Do they have baths here, Chang? Big ones like in Japan?"

"Yeah they do, why?"

"Remind me later to take a long one…with you," she replied.

"Yes ma'am I most certainly will!" he said with a smirk as he followed her onward.

000

Revy, Eda and Shenhua were behind some bushes watching a large house that had two guards at the door.

"I'm gonna shoot the one on the right," Revy murmured to the other women. "When he goes down you take out the left one, Chinglish. Eda, you back us up."

"I don't get to have any fun?" Eda muttered.

"With that unsuppressed noisemaker? Not too smart, bitch."

Eda stuck her tongue out, while Shenhua prepared to spring as Revy lined up her shot. It was not far, maybe thirty feet, but she wanted to make sure it only took one shot.

_Pow!_ The suppressed cutlass jerked as she pulled the trigger. It was not loud, but the pressure of the round leaving the barrel still made a sound. Her target slammed backward against the wall and slid down, leaving a bloody trail behind his head.

The second guard spun towards the first and was caught by Shenhua as she jumped from cover. She was on him in a second and landed to his side. She stabbed him in the torso from the front and rear at the same time. The man convulsed once and slid to the ground as she withdrew the blades.

"Now what," murmured Eda, as they gathered at the door.

"You open the door and cut left, Shenhua will go right and I'll take the middle."

With that Eda stepped to the door and felt the knob. "Not locked," she mouthed as she raised her Glock. Putting her shoulder to the door she twisted the knob and shoved, going with the door as it swung to the left. Shenhua raced in behind her, cutting right as Revy charged up the middle, guns outstretched, looking for threats.

Inside they found a huge foyer entrance that had halls branching off either side, with a big staircase up the middle. Sitting in a high backed chair at the base of that stair, was a rugged looking man about Chang's size and weight. He was dressed in tiger stripe camo with a black beret and shoulder boards that had gold trim and two gold stars on each. Behind him on either side were two women, both dressed in Spandex body suits. One was holding two swords of the Cambodian Dha style, one long the other short. The other had two 1911 pistols with underslung knife blades attached to them.

To the side of the room stood four guards carrying AK-47's. They had the weapons pointed at a group of about twenty-five or so men, women and children who were kneeling prostrate on the floor.

The man in the chair crossed his legs and placed his hands in his lap, fingers intertwined. "Who might you be?" he asked as Revy stopped about ten feet in front of him.

"We're the ones taking over," she replied, watching the two women warily. "Who're you?"

"General Khem Phet, the one that is in control of this island, and who is holding the former owner and his family hostage."

"Yeah, so?" Revy replied.

The man and the two women looked puzzled. "You are here to rescue the hostages, correct?" he asked.

"No," Revy said. "I told you, dumbass, we're here to take this island. I don't give a shit about those fuckin' people."

"Wait," the man said. "Now I am confused. Who are you working for?"

"Balalaika from Hotel Moscow and Boss Chang of the Triad. They want this island for their base and I'm here to take it. I don't give a damn about hostages, we're gonna take the island no matter who's in charge."

_Pow! Pow! Pow!_ Suddenly Revy's guns popped three times and General Phet and the two women fell dead from head shots, all three with stunned looks on their faces.

"Damn Revy," Eda said. "That was fucking anti-climactic!"

"Twinkie you take all fun out of stuff," Shenhua quipped.

"Hey shut the fuck up! I was tired of talking ya know! Why do they always do that shit? Who the hell do they think they are some James Bond villain?"

"In the meantime, what do you want to do with these guys?" Eda asked, motioned towards the four guards.

A feral grin started to cross Revy's face. Before it went too far though, Eda waved her hands in front of her. "Hey! Hey, chill out a minute!"

The blond turned to the guards, "So, you guys want to just give up? I mean really, your boss is dead and I'm pretty sure Hotel Moscow has cleaned out the rest of your troops by now, so…what'd ya wanna do?"

The four men looked each other and then slowly raised their rifles above their heads.

"Yeah that's what I thought," the ex-CIA agent said with a laugh. "Come on over here one at a time and lay your guns down nice and slow."

The men did as they were told and were soon sitting against the wall with their hands behind their heads.

Revy walked over to the hostages, and stood before the oldest looking man, "So who's the big daddy here?"

The man raised his head to look up at the woman, "I am Siriporn the owner of this resort."

"Good, Boss Chang wants to talk to you when they get through cleaning out this bunch of Cambodian snake eaters. Just relax and chill, we'll watch over you till then."

"Thank you lady for my life and those of my children," the man said as he and the others started to get up. "Is there anything we can do for you?"

The Lagoon gunwoman grinned, "Ya got anything to drink around here? I'm mighty thirsty!"

000

"_Hey __Big__ Sis, the general's dead and the owner and his kin are in our hands, over,"_ Balalaika heard over the radio.

She sighed, looked at Chang and muttered, "Her radio procedures could use work." Chang chuckled as she responded, "Good, sit on the subjects until further notice. We have a few more holdouts and I think we can wrap this operation up, over and out."

"_Roger that, over and out."_

The blond woman looked at the residential building for a minute. When the gunfire in the distance would break for a second, you could hear children crying. "Suggestions?" she asked the Chinese man.

"Why don't you let me try to talk to them," he replied.

"You have an idea?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe they just want to make a deal."

He stood up and called out, speaking in Khmer, _"Hello __the building__! Let's talk; we don't want to hurt women and children!"_

"_Who are you?"_ was the reply.

"_Da Ge Chang 14K Triad from Roanapur! I'll guarantee your safety if you come out and talk with me!"_

It was quiet for a minute before the man responded again, _"Two of us will come out to talk."_

The door to the building opened and two men dressed in tiger camo, came out. They walked slowly, holding out their hands to show there were no weapons in them. Chang and Balalaika started forward and the four met half-way between the tree line and the building. They were both short men, about five feet tall, and they looked up in surprise at the tall blond Russian woman.

Getting himself under control, the leading man spoke, _"I am Chea Da, second in command of the mercenary forces under General Khem Phet."_

"_Do you speak English?"_ Chang asked. The man nodded and Chang switched languages, "Good, this will make it easier for my friend here. I'm Chang and this is Balalaika of Hotel Moscow."

The men nodded in return. "I am aware of who you are," Da said. "I did not know two great leaders had arrived on the island."

"We just got in. I assume you are here for the same reason we are? Getting away from the troubles on the mainland?"

"Yes," Da said. "The General packed everything up and moved as soon as we heard the news from some contacts in the west."

"Us too, but we got delayed a little bit. Oh, by the way, the General's dead. He didn't take well to the change of power here," Chang told them.

The man snorted, "I am not surprised. He always thought he was stronger than he was. In the killing fields of Cambodia he had power. Against the likes of Hotel Moscow and the 14K, he was nothing. The question is now, what will happen to us?"

Chang smiled, "That's up to you. I know you have your families in the building. Surrender, lay down your weapons and we will guarantee the safety of all of you."

"What will you do with us? Ship us back to the mainland?"

"I see no reason for that," Balalaika said, speaking for the first time. "You are doing the honorable thing. Your men, those who fought, did so bravely and against insurmountable odds. Many have already surrendered and I see no reason to punish such men. We will need help holding this island. If you prove you worth, you can be part of that."

The man watched her for a moment before laughing, "Well I am a mercenary and I like the deal you are offering. What do we need to do?"

Chang glanced at Balalaika for a second before speaking again, "Nothing right now. Keep your weapons for now and just go back inside. We'll put guards on the doors, two of yours and four of ours. Once we finish everything else up we'll talk again."

The men bowed slightly, "As you command, great leaders."

"You said you're second in command, I don't supposed you could get the ones in the warehouse to give up could you?" Chang asked.

Da shook his head, "That is the First Team under the guard commander. He is a fanatic follower of the General and will not give up even if he had proof the General is dead. He will not listen to me and will have to be rooted out."

"That's what I was afraid of," Chang sighed. "Okay, is there anything in the warehouse we need to be worried about? Explosives or such that could be a threat to the whole resort if it blows up?"

"Spare weapons, ammunition, grenades, C4, claymore mines and two 90mm recoilless rifles with rounds for them. If the building was to burn and that cooked off, it would be bad."

Balalaika grimaced, "Then we will have to enter and weed them out one at a time."

Chang looked puzzled, "Besides the ammo, what else is in there they would be so fired up about protecting?"

"Four tons of heroin," Da said. "It was the General's plan to use it for trading and to control some of the population."

"I see," the woman said as Chang shook his head.

"Figures," the Chinese man said. "Well we need to move on with this. The guards will approach the building once we inform the others what we are doing.

Da nodded and retreated back inside with his companion.

Chang and Balalaika walked back to where the two team leaders were standing and explained what was going to happen. Once the guards were posted, the rest of the men started moving towards the warehouse.

"Four tons of heroin," Chang said. "That's a hell of a lot of money and power right there. Question is…what's it worth now?"

"I don't know," she replied. "If we had that much a few days ago, it could have crashed the street value and ruined whole markets for the drug. Now…the medicinal value is priceless."

The man shook his head, "Well for now let's go see what we can do with this other bunch."

She nodded in agreement as they started off.

000

They arrived at the warehouse and settled behind a barricade Balalaika's men had set up. After hearing a report from the team leader, she had all of her men cease firing.

After analyzing the situation for a few minutes, Balalaika turned to Chang. "Try calling out again. I don't think it's going to work, but it might give us a better idea of their mindset."

He called out, but the only response they got back was a burst of automatic weapons fire.

"I think that means no," he quipped as she frowned. "What now?"

"I do not want to assault this place if we do not have to," she said. "We will try some persuasion next. Vasiliy…RPG the door, use a OG-7 frag round. Then put two gas followed by two frag grenades inside."

The lieutenant nodded.

"Won't that run a chance of setting off the munitions?" Chang asked.

"It might." She said as she opened the covers on her rifle's scope. "I'm willing to take that chance to settle this sooner." She lay down and eased her rifle around the edge of the barricade, getting a good angle on the door.

"And what will we do if it does set the ammo off?"

"Duck," she replied with a smile as she put the scope to her eye.

"Aw shit," the man muttered as he hunkered down next to her.

Vasiliy stood up behind the barricade and put a RPG-7 launcher to his shoulder. As Chang watched he noticed it did not have the big cone-shaped round you normally saw, but a long thin shape. The weapon fired with it characteristic _WHOOSH_ and the door to the building blew inward without a shower of spark and flame. There were two thumps of GP-25's going off, and once a cloud of CS gas began to roll out of the door, two more thumps and the bang of 40mm frags exploding inside.

There were some screams before several men staggered out, only to meet the 7.62 round from Balalaika's Dragunov. Several automatic rifles fired from hiding points, but they went silent as the Dragunov cracked several more times.

She rolled back behind the barricade and they lay quiet for a while, waiting for some sign of life.

"What now?" Chang asked.

"Now we wait till sunrise. If we see no further resistance by then, I will risk sending some men in to clear the building."

000

Three hours later, the sun was up and there had been further movement.

Balalaika waved and a group with Vasiliy at the lead ran towards the door of the building. They fanned out on both sides and the lieutenant held out a hand mirror to see around the doorframe. After a second or two he motioned and two men rushed in the door. A couple of seconds after that, two more and two more until the ten man hunter team was inside. Fifteen minutes after that, Balalaika's radio crackled.

"_Vasiliy to Kapitan, building is secure, over."_

She nodded before responding, "Good, we are coming inside, over and out"

"I'm not going to say it; I'm not going to say it!" Chang repeated as he followed her.

"I will; it seems too easy doesn't it."

"Damn it! Here comes that boot, I just know it," he cursed.

She waved one of her soldiers over, "Go back to the residential building and bring Chea Da. Tell him we are looking for a head count of the general's mercenary forces." As he jogged off she waved three other men over. "Go to each team and the docks," she told them. "Get a head count of enemy dead and wounded, return quickly."

They saluted and ran off as she and Change went inside where Vasiliy met them in the open center.

"What have you found?" she asked.

"Twenty two dead, no wounded. There is a roll-up truck door and another pedestrian door in the back." He motioned to one side, "The weapons and ammunition are stacked over there. A few cases got knocked over in the blasts, but besides bursting open there is no damage to the contents. The drugs are over here." He led them to a glassed in office where they could large brown paper wrapped bricks. "Estimating each brick is ten kilograms, we are looking at around three hundred and seventy bricks."

"Or about four tons," Chang said as Balalaika nodded.

"What I am more concerned about at the moment is the number of Cambodians we have killed and captured," Balalaika said. "We estimated around one hundred and twenty, and we can account for about fifty dead. Where are the rest? I do not think they are all in that building."

"You are correct," Chea Da said as he walked up with the runner. "There is a small village as well as the tank farms on the island. The resort itself is spread out over the island in building groups. We had fifty men spread out and posted in different areas as guards. If you have not attacked them they are still there and I might be able to get them to surrender under my command. The fanatics were only in this group."

"Why was the resort spread this way, Chang? The Dacha resorts I am familiar with on the Black Sea are close together, not like this," Balalaika asked.

"Siriporn did it like this so if different groups wanted more privacy they could have it. Say a group of well to do businessmen or government leaders wanted to have a get-a-way with…_special_ entertainment. They could be put into one location and no one would know what was going on there except the staff."

"Right now I want you to look at the dead here and make sure you know all of them," the woman told Chea Da. He nodded and set about his task, making notes on a pad he pulled from his pocket.

A few minutes later he was through and walked back over. "Something is not adding up," he told the mafia couple. "There are two men here that should have been with the general and I see the team leader and four others missing, that should have been with this group."

Balalaika handed him a notepad she had just received from a runner, with the numbers of captured and dead on it. "This is where your people stand elsewhere around the resort."

After studying the pads for a minute he nodded, "Now I'm sure of it, there are at least five men missing one of which is the first team leader."

Balalaika frowned and looked at Chang, "There is your other boot."

The Chinese man grimaced and nodded.

They all turned towards the door as Revy came in followed by Siriporn, Eda and Shenhua.

The resort owner put his hands together like he was praying and bowed before Chang and Balalaika. "Great Brother Chang please forgive me for the way I spoke to you on the phone!"

Chang patted the man on the shoulder and waved for him to straighten up, "Come, come now, Master Siriporn! What you did was correct and I got the message. So, here we are to the rescue and all will be well. Let me introduce you to my friend and co-leader Ms. Balalaika."

"Greetings great lady! I know who you are and please consider my home yours for as long as you need!"

Balalaika smirked, "I will take you up on that offer seeing what is going on in the world."

"Yes, yes I understand and we should be able to…" Siriporn trailed off as Balalaika held up her hand.

She was looking at Chea Da. The man's head was cocked to one side and he was staring at a bunch of large wooden crates stacked together behind them.

"What is it, Chea Da?" the woman asked.

"Those crates…there is blood dripping out of one of them!"

The man had no more than gotten the words out of his mouth than the front of three crates dropped open and the five missing Cambodians opened fire on the group, guns on full auto.

Chaos reigned as people returned fire, while diving and ducking different directions.

Balalaika didn't even have time to pull a pistol before a white-hot pain flashed through her and she spun away to crash to the ground. She lay on the floor staring at the ceiling as in her peripheral vision she could see people falling and hear the roar of gunfire. It got quiet for a minute before the cries of injured began and someone shouting for a medic. She began to fade to black as Chang leaned over her, blood running down his face from a head wound, calling her name over and over. His frantic voice got further away as the blackness closed in.

* * *

A/N: Holidays have made updates slow but there is more coming!

As always Please Review, Favorite and Follow!

*'Golden Muscle'* is a Cambodian drink. This pitch-black concoction is made from deer antlers and assorted herbs. It packs a 35% punch and tastes vile when drunk straight, but can be made reasonably palatable (if not exactly tasty) by the addition of tonic water or cola.


End file.
